


Pledge

by CygnusTrash



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Age Progression, Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Human/Non-Human Relationship, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Not Beta Read, Short Chapters, Slice of Life, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 45,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22153405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CygnusTrash/pseuds/CygnusTrash
Summary: When Junhui was 10 years old he met a young fox. It wasn't a normal animal, but a demon with the ability to change into human form.During the summer break he spent in his grandparents' house in a small town, Junhui also spent time with the fox demon, even if they couldn't understand each other.After a fight against someone or something, Jeonghan somehow ends up getting transported all the way to a small town in the south of China. There he meets a little child who helps him patch his wounds, and offers him to stay until he heals and finds out how to get back home.Although he can't understand anything the child says, Jeonghan finds the moments he spends with him fun and entertaining. Not eating the kid was a good choice.「Did you ever forget about me?」
Relationships: Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Yoon Jeonghan
Comments: 67
Kudos: 108





	1. Arc I. Chapter One

When Junhui was ten years old, he met a young fox.

It was during a trip to the town where his grandparents lived. He had gone out to play in the park near their house, and while he was on his way to the swings, the sound of scratching on earth under the penguin king statue caught his attention. Stopping in his tracks, the child looked under the game and his eyes opened wide. In the middle of the dirt there was a white fox very furiously digging at the earth, its paws covered in dirt and its fur stained with black and red spots.

The fox seemed to be aware of the child as it suddenly began to dig faster and even borderline desperate. The young fox was about fifty centimeters long, barely able to hide inside the penguin only because it was crouching, and the game was the biggest slide.

At first Junhui wasn't afraid of it, as he was more curious than anything. However, the moment he tried to crawl inside, a low growl came from the fox, which had turned to glare at him with a pair of golden eyes, wary of him. Immediately he stepped back as if on instinct; then the fox continued to dig into the earth, its paws only dirtying more and more until they had almost turned black.

Calmed down, Junhui took a better look at the animal and saw it was trembling, the movement from its paws turning slow and numbed, and the red spots all over its body began to become bigger. The child gasped in realization and ran inside. Once again the fox growled at him, although weaker, until its movements stopped and it fell down. Fortunately he had ran just in time for it to fall unconscious on his lap.

The breathing was weak, and the body was trembling like it was the middle of winter, even if the season was still summer.

Covering the fox with his jacket, the child used all the strength he had and ran all the way to his grandparents' home.

Going through the backyard, Junhui made sure his grandparents wouldn’t see him, and then carefully brought the fox to his room. Fortunately the house was of the old kind with only one floor, so he didn’t have to struggle carrying the animal through the stairs. However, during the entire way, Junhui realized that compared to the size from the fox, it was rather light and for a moment worried that it was malnourished.

The child carried the animal over to his bed and immediately ran to the bathroom in search for the first aid kit. He made sure his grandparents didn’t see him and then ran back to his room.

The fox remained unconscious, and it was only by the slow, although weak, up and down movement from its abdomen that Junhui could be assured it was still breathing.

With the inexperience of a ten year old, the kid began to attempt washing the fox’s silver fur with a soft towel, slowly getting rid of the dirt and blood until only a few dark red stains remained under the fur. Trying his best to not wake up the animal, Junhui grabbed the bandages from the kit and started to cover wherever he found a light red spot or obvious injury.

By the time he considered it was enough, Junhui ran back to put the first aid kit where he found it, in case his grandmother found something out of place.

Since both his grandparents were busy drinking tea and reading the newspaper, the boy took the opportunity and sneaked into the kitchen in search of some meat and water.

After pouring water into a soup plate, he then searched for any chicken leftovers from the previous day on the fridge. What he ended up finding was a pair of mackerels. Not wishing to take those, Junhui searched for anything else that was meat, but to his surprise there wasn’t any leftover chicken, and besides other leftovers from dishes, there was nothing else that could be quick and easy to eat for the injured fox.

Before he could think about it more, Junhui grabbed a mackerel and after grabbing the plate with water, he rushed back to his bedroom.

The fox was still asleep, but its breathing had stabilized. Junhui sighed in relief and left the mackerel and plate of water near the animal. Then, as it was already becoming late, he went and changed into his pajamas.

After wishing goodnight to his grandparents, Junhui immediately went to his bed and lied down. He looked at the sleeping fox with a relieved smile, then closed his eyes.

Late at midnight, a bright light covered the body of the fox. Slowly the figure began to change, forming the silhouette of a person.

After the light disappeared, a young man sat where the fox had been lying. The moon light seeping from between the curtains reflected his long silver hair, and a cold glint appeared on a pair of clear golden eyes. The skin looked slightly pale against the hair color, and a pair of red marks contrasted under his eyes. A pair of fox ears twitched, as the silver brush behind him swayed gently one way to the other.

With an emotionless gaze he turned towards the mackerel and plate of water lying in front of him. Raising an eyebrow, he picked up the dead fish and stared hard at it, his eyes narrowing once he found nothing wrong with it except it wasn't cooked. He then looked down at the plate of water, which clearly was soup plate. His right eye twitched.

Wishing to know where he was, he stood up and looked at his surroundings. The moment his eyes landed on the sleeping child he stepped back, his eyes widening. That was the kid from the playground.

So after falling unconscious this child brought him to his home. He sneered. Isn't this kid afraid the fox may eat him later?

After all, he was indeed hungry.

Just as he was about to get closer to the child, his hand already reaching for the neck, his gaze landed on the mackerel and stopped. His eyes traveled from the boy to the fish, and slowly his hand began to shake.

At the end he went for the fish. Sitting on the ground beside the child's bed, he ate the raw fish and drank from the soup plate every once.

After finish eating, he stood up and walked around the room silently, his eyes stopping on an open notebook along with some books on top of a desk. Furrowing his eyebrows, he took a closer look at them, only to end up opening his eyes wide as he stepped backwards with a start.

His head suddenly started hurting, as the memories from the previous days came back to him. This wasn't his hometown, that wasn't his language. How the hell did he end up all the way in China instead of Korea?

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't exactly remember how he had ended up all the way here.

He looked back at the sleeping child, and then at his body covered in bandages. His hands were no longer covered in blood and dirt, and his clothes had returned to being clean, but he could still feel the injuries under the white bandages. This child had saved him. A light smile formed on his handsome face, as he reached out and softly ruffled the kid's hair.

"How naive, saving the life of a wild animal without even caring if it'll bite you back."

 _Cute_.

Guess he'll have to stay here until he figures out how to get back to Korea. He stared at the fish bone and soup plate with water, the corner of his lips twitched.

 _Whatever_.

The light of the morning sun filtering through the curtains woke him up. Rubbing away the sleepiness from his eyes with his hands, Junhui sat up and yawned. Then he turned to look at the side of his bed, surprised to find the fox still asleep but the mackerel no longer there, instead there was only a fish bone.

So the fox had woken up to eat, and then went back to sleep. Junhui was surprised it hadn't ran away.

He stood up from the bed and knelt beside the little fox, staring at the bandaged body with red stains. Did he need to change the bandages? It looked dirty. But if the fox had woken up, it meant that it was no longer unconscious and could very easily wake up if he touched it.

Just as he was hesitating on what to do, a pair of knocks took him out from his thoughts. The voice of his grandmother calling for him.

"Hui Er, are you up? Come have breakfast."

"Coming, grandma!"

He answered and immediately turned around, giving one last look to the sleeping fox before leaving his bedroom.

As soon as the door closed, the former sleeping fox pried open one golden eye, staring at the way the child had left. He stood up and yawned. Then without bothering to look at the plate of water, he jumped onto the bed and climbed to the window.

The outside seemed to be a small town. Not far away, he could see a bit of the playground where the kid had found him.

Although at first he couldn't believe it, hearing the child speaking, along with the old woman's voice on the other side of the door, he had now confirmed that he was indeed no longer in Korea but rather some place in China.

A bright light surrounded the fox, and once again a young silver haired man appeared sitting on the bed with his legs crossed. He sighed, looking at the window helplessly.

Just how was he supposed to go back home? He didn't even know how he ended up here.

It was so difficult, being in a place where he couldn't even understand the language. He leaned on the wall, his head resting on his hand as he stared at the window and towards the door.

What was he supposed to do with that child? As long as he didn't find out his real identity then there was no problem. He grinned confidently, sure that the kid wouldn't find out, after he had been living in this modern era and no one had ever discovered the truth.

 _Ah, being a fox demon in this era is so difficult, my ancestors sure had it way easier._ Of course he was ignoring all legends of warriors and heroes hunting down demons, especially fox demons.

Just as he was convinced that he would be able to hide his real form, his tail swaying from one side to the other, the door suddenly slammed open.

In that instant everything seemed to have frozen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the project I’ve been working on since last year, and although I had expected to have it finished by end of last year, I ended up taking longer. It’s still not finished, but I have chapters written already, so updates may not take that long. So far I have planned to update every two weeks, to give me time to write and edit to the best of my abilities. I will ask some friends to help beta, but please be kind to point me out if you find any inconsistency.  
> As of posting the first chapter, there’s a chance that, although I have the entire story planned and drafted already, while writing future chapters I’ll have to change stuff in the previous ones. So at least until it’s finished, chapters will be on constant editing, please forgive me.  
> Also, last thing in case you’re a bit confused, this story is divided in parts which I’ll call arcs, they can be either short or long, mostly due to time skips.


	2. Arc I. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What a foolish child," he murmured before finally losing consciousness.

After finishing breakfast, Junhui's grandmother asked him to accompany her to the market.

He had come back to his bedroom to change, and he was expecting to find the fox still sleeping.

However, to his surprise, what Junhui found wasn't the cute fox sleeping soundly on the carpet. Instead there was a young male sitting on his bed, staring at him with the same surprise he probably had on his face. Yet it wasn't only the fact that a strange person had suddenly appeared on his bedroom, which was on its own very scary, but the appearance of the man was quite… out of the ordinary. It wasn't just his incredibly good looking face, but the silver hair, the pair of ears on top of the head and swaying tail behind of the same color, the weird clear golden eyes and the red line under them. All of him was…

Junhui didn't know how to react, and so he remained standing in front of his bedroom, with his wide eyes glued on the person in front of him.

And it seemed the other managed to get out of his shock first, as he immediately stood up at the same time the door closed behind Junhui with a slam. Only in that moment, did Junhui also finally reacted by trying to put as much distance as possible from the strange male.

The eyes of the silver haired male looked way too scary, almost as if he was planning on killing him. By now Junhui had become more than aware that the fox he had brought home wasn't any normal animal, but a demon.

However, as soon as the male was about to step forward towards Junhui, his steps faltered and his right hand reached towards his chest, where the bandages were. His face flinched in pain, his eyebrows furrowing while he bit his lips in an attempt to silence himself. Although it seemed he bit too hard, as blood began to drip from his lips, staining them into a pretty red almost matching with the mark under his eyes.

In that moment Junhui's eyes traveled to the bandaged chest of the male, his eyes widening at seeing a growing red stain.

Inside he was panicking, realizing the kid had seen his real form and now he had to either erase his memories or get rid of him. Of course he didn't want to kill a child, it was beyond his principles to go to that extent, so making him forget would be the best choice.

Yet the moment he used his force to close the door and was just about to knock out the kid, an immense pain surged inside him. He almost fell to the ground, if it wasn't because he used what little strength to recover his balance he would've fallen to the ground.

His wounds had reopened, that he knew, but he didn't want to appear weak in front of this human child. And so, he tried to hold on. But to his surprise, his injuries were worse than he had expected.

He gripped tightly on his chest, trying to stay on his feet. However, the pain provoked by the wounds was too much.

These wounds, they're not normal. It must have been something very powerful to affect him this much. And worse was that he couldn't even remember how he had gotten into such a situation.

As his sight began to get blurry, his legs weakened and finally he couldn't hold on any longer.

In between the dark spots he saw the kid running towards him with a worried look on his face. He couldn't help but chuckle at the expression the child was making.

"What a foolish child," he murmured before finally losing consciousness.

As Junhui reached out to hold the young man, he was surprised to hear some weird words coming out of his mouth. What language was he speaking? He couldn’t understand anything.

It only took a few seconds before Junhui’s legs also gave up, and he ended up sitting on the floor with the strange man lying on his lap. This was very unexpected. The child didn’t know how to react. Obviously the male didn’t want to be discovered, as seen by his reaction. He was a demon, the ears and tail, along with the way he closed the door without even touching it, were more than clear.

So did that mean the demon was going to kill him?

But he didn’t seem that threatening at all, Junhui thought back.

He then stared back at the person lying in his arms, the size difference more than obvious between his small limbs and the man’s broad shoulders and long body. Just as he was looking at him, Junhui took notice once again of the reopened wound that had started to bleed and immediately panicked.

With all the strength he could muster, he pulled up the young male into his own bed, and then went to search for the first aid kit once again.

While he was running to the bathroom, Junhui heard the voice of his grandmother.

“Hui Er? Are you ready yet?”

“Um… in a bit grandma! I’m just gonna organize the room first, it’s a real mess right now,” he answered, hesitating for a bit at first, although quickly recovering up and lied smoothly. He felt bad lying to his grandmother, though.

Hurrying back to his bedroom, he looked at the unconscious man lying on his bed. His skin was turning paler by the second due to the lack of blood, and both the color of his fur seemed to be losing the shine he had previously seen on the man.

Weren’t demons supposed to be strong? Isn’t this one kind of weak?

Junhui asked himself innocently, wondering why this demon wasn’t like the ones he had heard his grandparents tell him about.

He carefully removed the dirty bandages on the man’s torso, revealing a slim abdomen that probably shouldn’t be looking this terrifying with all the wounds and bleeding. He was in shock. This was his first time seeing these kind of injuries on a person, after all. However, realizing that the blood wasn’t stopping, and the man’s skin was only becoming paler, he came out from his shock and tried to calm himself.

After cleaning the blood with a wet towel, seeing that this was a “person”, Junhui didn’t hesitate on grabbing the alcohol and applying it on all the injuries visible; to his surprise, all he received was a small hiss yet the man remained unconscious. During the entire process his hands didn’t stop trembling.

Those kinds of wounds… just what kind of thing could it have caused them? Did this demon had a fight with another demon? Was that even possible?

Done changing the bandages, Junhui let the man rest in his bed and went to quickly change his clothes.

Just as he was about to leave his room, he hesitated. Was it really okay to leave a demon alone with his grandfather? But it was unconscious, and this time it seemed like it actually wouldn’t wake up for a while. Hopefully nothing would happen while he was gone with his grandmother.

During the trip with his grandmother, Junhui couldn’t help but think back on that man, wondering about how he had ended up in that playground and what to do with him. He had never expected the fox he picked to be an actual demon, all he had intended was to save the fox and then return it back to freedom once it had recovered…

Should he still do the same with that demon? He pondered, thinking it wasn’t such a bad idea. The demon probably didn’t want to stay with him either, and if he offered to let him go, then maybe he wouldn’t kill him.

But how to convey these feelings to someone he wasn’t even sure could understand him. Those words he had spoken… 

Back on his grandparents’ home, Junhui helped his grandmother save and order everything, then ran towards his bedroom.

However, just as he was steps away from the door, the voice of the old woman stopped him.

“Are you not going to go out, Hui Er?”

Junhui had found himself in an awkward situation. He stared at the door thinking what to say, as he didn’t want to raise suspicions. Who knows what his grandparents would think of a fox on their house; worse of all: a fox demon.

“Uh, yeah, in a while, just gonna check something quickly.”

And without saying anything else, he opened the door and closed it right behind him as soon as he stepped inside.

He was relieved of finding the young male still asleep, and he didn’t seem to be in much pain anymore. With small steps, Junhui walked over to the unconscious person, his childish eyes filled with curiosity about this stranger, and so his gaze stopped on the silver ears on top of his head.

They looked so fluffy, he wanted to touch them, wanted to pet him.

Immediately his thoughts halted, same as his hand that had begun to reach towards the pair of fluffy ears.

No, no, no. He shouldn’t be thinking on that, but on how to tell the demon he had never intended to keep him here, rather would let him go as soon as his injuries recovered. Junhui looked at the beautiful man.

“So fox demons are really beautiful,” he spoke softly, with the awe and innocence of a ten year old child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since yesterday I went to my first Seventeen concert since coming to study here, and it was really fun and enjoyable, I decided to make a kind of double update because I'm in a good mood, so it's this one and next week's (Monday). Also, if you have any questions feel free to throw them my way, I'll try to answer them without spoiling anything. The schedule of updating every two Mondays will keep up as long as I have chapters ready, which I have like... 30 I think, and still writing more, so yeah, get ready for a long junhan fic, finally doing it the right way to avoid long hiatus. But please take in count everything is still under editing, so have mercy on me


	3. Arc I. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe the first thing to do was tell him his name, Junhui thought.

By the time he woke up it was already evening and the child was nowhere to be seen. Turning his head towards the opened window, with the full moon reflecting on the pair golden eyes, he tried to remember the last time he had spent a night like this in someone else’s home. How long was it?

Standing up on his four legs, the fox stretched up for a while and then jumped down from the bed to walk towards the window. He sat on the window sill and stared. In this small town, the moon was quite the view. He liked it.

After the sudden bright light dissipated, the young man remained sitting in the same place with his chin resting on his hand.

Closing his eyes he focused back on the last thing he remembered before getting thrown here. Still, all he could see, or rather feel, were a strong series of attacks filled with powerful demonic energy. His brows furrowed at the memory of his body being pierced by them, the sensation still ingrained in him as if it were happening right now. However, no matter how hard he tried to remember the owner of such incredible strength, his mind remained blank, and every time he forced it, it would cause him an awfully painful headache.

“Who the hell had the courage to fight me? I don’t remember angering any of the other demons to the point of them wanting to kill me,” his ears moved downwards in thought, at the same time the tail that had been lying on the bed began to move side to side.

At the sound of steps coming closer, he opened his eyes and turned towards the door. It slowly opened and a small head of black hair came into view. The pair of golden eyes traveled to the child’s hands, one holding a cup of water, and the other a piece of chicken.

_ “I don’t know if this is enough, but I don’t want my grandparents from finding out.” _

This kid, he just kept bringing whatever food he wanted. Who knew whatever the kid was saying, but with the current wounds, he had to eat lots of meat. This little piece of chicken was nothing but a mere scrap compared to all the animals (and humans) he had fed on before.

However, the look on the child, his eyes were full of sincerity and worry, he didn’t have the heart to reject that insulting food.

Although with a bit of hesitance, once the kid saw he had no intention of attacking him, he walked up to him and handed him the water and the plate with the chicken.

If it had only been the sincere and worried look, then the young male wouldn’t have minded. But as the child stepped closer, he saw the blush covering his face as he averted his gaze. He couldn’t help but snort at the kid’s expression, immediately followed by a low chuckle.

Startled by the chuckle from the demon, Junhui immediately turned to look at him directly. However, he couldn’t do or say much, as his eyes focused solely on the slight smile adorning the beautiful man, his eyes closing in crescent moons. A sudden bright aura seemed to surround the young male. Junhui couldn’t help but admire the sight in front of him, his own eyes sparkling, for a moment forgetting the man was a fox demon.

_ “You really are a foolish child.” _

Junhui couldn’t understand what the male had said, but the way he spoke, a kind of soft low voice with a tinge of helplessness but mostly amusement. It made him flustered.

Once done handing him the food and water, Junhui whispered a small “Sorry” and then walked back to the door.

However, when he tried to open it, he realized it was locked. With a startled expression he turned to look at the demon, finding him smirking and with a cold glint in his golden eyes. Junhui felt a shiver traveled through his spine. He tried to remain calm by staring back at the youth, but his hands couldn’t stop trembling.

The other signaled him towards the floor with a simple hand gesture, and Junhui couldn’t help but gaze at the slender long fingers with red nails. It was only for a second though, he didn’t want to anger the male.

Sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, Junhui didn’t dare to raise his head. He was afraid the demon would indeed kill him after finding his real identity. How to tell him he wasn’t going to tell anyone, and was originally planning to just let the fox go after its injuries were healed? Obviously Junhui couldn’t understand what the man was saying, and probably neither could the other man understand him.

Maybe the first thing to do was tell him his name, Junhui thought.

After pondering about it for a minute, he finally decided on that idea and turned to look at the man.

Yet what he wasn’t expecting was the man looking back at him with a startled expression, his hands almost close to Junhui’s head.

Immediately Junhui moved back, his eyes wide and feeling his heart on his throat. Apparently the man also realized his fear and quickly pulled back his hand. Although, unless it was just his imagination, he seemed to be blushing.

Junhui looked at him, and after hesitating for a bit, he finally mustered up the courage to tell him his name.

"Wén Jùnhuī," he pointed at himself. "My name is Wén Jùnhuī."

The other stared at him weirdly, his brows furrowing.

" _ What? _ "

"Wén. Jùn. Huī."

Every syllable was spoken slowly, trying his best to make the other understand, while at the same time pointing at himself.

" _ Men… Jun… what? What are you saying? _ "

The male looked even more lost, he kept frowning and staring at Junhui with confusion.

Hearing the child repeating the same words, at first the demon didn't know what he was trying to say. He kept pointing at himself and speaking three syllables, except that the young man couldn't quite understand the last word.

" _ Wén. Jùn. Huī _ ."

The kid spoke even more slowly, while pressing his hand on his chest.

Finally, the male understood what the boy meant. He was telling him his name.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry at the child's naivety, the demon simply raised an eyebrow in amusement. This kid obviously did not know the danger of telling a demon his name, just speaking it without a care even if he hadn't even asked about it. However, the young male didn't have any intentions to hurt the child, he had never been interested in eating children, to his family's dismay.

"Your name is Men… Jun… Huei?"

He struggled a bit on repeating the same words as the child, but seeing the boy nodding his head at the finger pointing at him, he didn't know exactly how to react.

No demon in their right mind would say their real names, especially to a human. Names carried a lot of weight, and if carelessly spoken could even endanger a demon's and/or spirit's freedom.

However, this child seemed expectant on hearing the young man's name. Although this was only a kid, and probably right now didn't have any evil intentions towards the demon, who knows if it would be any different when he grows up.

Then he remembered something, lots of kids often forget any weird encounters they had during childhood. If he spoke his name to this child who didn't even understand Korean, the probability of him remembering in the future was way too slim.

But was he really willing to risk that small possibility that the boy, once he becomes an adult, still remembers? By then, he would've been long gone and back in his own home. Maybe there was really no risk.

Also, the innocent and expectant expression on this kid's face. It reminded him of his younger sibling when she was still just a child.

He sighed and pointed at himself, then spoke slowly.

"Yoon Jeonghan." He looked at the confused child and repeated, "Yoon. Jeong. Han."

" _ Yún… Zhèng… Hàn? _ "

The kid was also struggling to say his name, and for some reason felt like the words weren’t exactly the same even though they sounded very similar. However, seeing that the child seemed quite happy on being able to say his name, the demon couldn’t help but smile lightly. This human kid was way too amusing.

“ _ Yún Zhèng Hàn! _ ” The child exclaimed a bit more confident, his eyes brightening as he looked up at him.

“Yes, yes, no need to repeat it so loud,” he waved his hand nonchalantly while turning to look elsewhere, not wanting the child to look at his flushing face.

Forget amusing, this child was too much for him. His lack of fear, his eyes lighting up as if hundreds of lights were encased in them every time he looked at him, and such a bright and incredibly adorable smile the moment he had said his name, as correctly as he could. All of this, for someone who had always encountered children who only feared him or those who would chase him around in his fox form to “play” with him, was too much and new.

Not understanding what he said, the kid stared in confusion with his head tilted. Way too adorable.

“But still, your full name is too difficult for me to pronounce… hmm…” muttering to himself, he gazed at the child with narrowed eyes until an idea popped into his mind. “Jun? How about Jun?”

Apparently the child only understood “Jun” and nodded, although stopped for a second and then eyed him with suspicion.

“It’s easier that way,” he shrugged, completely ignoring the expression on the kid’s face. Then with a finger pointed at himself and said: “Han,” then at the child, “Jun.”

Although at first Junhui didn’t feel sure of this demon calling him “Jun” so casually, he had clearly seen the other struggling with his full name, and he had also allowed him to call him “Han” the same way to make it easier for him too.

But at least they now knew each other’s names and Junhui felt more safe, as the demon didn’t seem really into killing him.

However, there was still the issue of communicating. Clearly he still didn’t know what language this demon spoke; even though he felt like the name was a key to figure it out, at the moment he couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly which one was it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update done!! I hope you’re enjoying this fic, please do tell me if you want longer chapters, although in that case the update would be monthly, sorry. Unfortunately my friend helping me beta has been really busy with life, so I can’t really check well for errors and inconsistencies, will try to edit to the best of my abilities and fix any mistakes I find. Thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed, please do leave kudos and comments. Also, the first arc is kind of long, but please be patient.


	4. Arc I. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five kids’ laughter resounded around the mountain, mixing along with the cicadas’ cries.

Under the clear night sky, the moon light trespassed through the window into the room. Not only it reflected the long silver hair and swaying brush, but it illuminated a pair of dark eyes which seemed to hold hundreds of stars in them.

There was silence, none of them knew how to communicate with each other.

It was already late and Junhui knew at some point he had to go to sleep, but with the young man in his bed, he didn’t know how to tell him to move without angering him. The male didn’t seem like the kind who would enjoy sleeping on the floor, although who knows, maybe he didn’t care.

However, before Junhui could struggle on how to express his thoughts, a sudden bright light surrounded the room. The child turned towards it, and instead of finding a handsome young male, a white fox laid now on his bed staring at him with sharp golden eyes like the sun.

It only glanced at him for a minute before turning around and closing its eyes, in an obvious demonstration of wanting to sleep.

Junhui stared at it with wide eyes, before chuckling and climbing on his own bed.

“What a nice fox demon, maybe he’s not so scary… little Han.”

He had realized the child would need to go to sleep, and neither was he willing to sleep on the floor again nor let the kid do it. So, he changed back into his animal form, that way he would use less space and the boy could sleep comfortably.

At some point, while he was dozing off, Jeonghan began to question himself. Why wasn’t he getting rid of the child? Even though he didn’t completely agree with feeding off children, mostly because he wasn’t that into seeing their faces of suffering, he knew that if he took this kid’s life he could heal himself faster and get out of here sooner.

Was it because the kid, Jun, had saved him and tried to heal him? He certainly had never encountered the kindness of a human while on his animal form, children always played rough with him and ended up hurting him when he was much smaller, and after growing up adults just either kicked him or tried to kill him out of fear. Even after discovering his real identity, the child still tried to help him, changing his bandages and bringing him food (as insulting as it was).

_ If noona and hyung knew I’m hesitating so much on eating one mere human, they would laugh at me for the next dozen years. _

Anyways, as soon as his wounds heal, he would get out of here and go back home. The others were probably looking for him once he didn’t come back. After all, even if he tended to go out for long periods of time, he always informed them and kept in contact.

The matter of this child would no longer be important once he left. Once he got back home, the first thing he should find, are his lost memories of that last fight and figure out who sent him all the way to China. For now he should just focus on healing.

Maybe staying in this form would also be better, it uses less strength.

The next day Junhui woke up to the fox sleeping soundly next to him. It looked adorable and he couldn't help but want to pet him, but held himself back in fear of disturbing its sleep. Instead he moved quietly and climbed down the bed, careful not to wake the fox.

Done washing himself and changing clothes, Junhui left his room to go have breakfast.

Planning on going to play outside, Junhui went back to his room first to check on the fox, only to find it still sleeping. Maybe it was tired. Its soft breathing, the slow up and down movement of its abdomen, let him not worry too much about it. He left it a few pieces of chicken and then ran out.

On the playground nearest to his grandparents' house, Junhui met up with a few kids from the neighborhood. They were all around the same age and thus didn't have those many problems when getting along.

There were two girls and two other boys besides him; one of the girls, Xiao Mengqian, was the oldest among them with eleven years old; the youngest was a boy, Lu Fenghuo, of nine years old; the other girl, Mu Xianyi, and boy, Dong Lianxin, were the same age as Junhui. Although they weren’t the only children around the area, they were the ones Junhui had the most fun with.

As soon as they saw Junhui running towards them, they all began to jump excitedly waving their arms. With a wide smile he ran faster towards them until he was standing in front of them with an excited expression.

Some days ago they had all agreed on visiting the nearest mountain in search of insects, but mostly beetles and cicadas. The one who caught the most and biggest ones would be the “king” for a day.

Although none of them had informed their parents of their real intentions, Junhui wasn’t planning on staying too long as he still had to go back and “feed” the fox demon in his room with whatever he could find in grandma’s fridge. He had already left him some chicken before going out. For a minute he stopped and thought, remembering on the mountain there was a river and there were probably gonna be fishes in there; if there were, he could bring some to little Han.

“Qian-jie, are there fish on the river?” Junhui suddenly asked while they were walking towards the mountain.

“Hmm, I don’t know,” Mengqian thought for a bit but couldn’t recall, and shook her head shrugging her shoulders.

“There are!” Lianxin suddenly spoke up, catching everyone’s attention. “My brother told me he used to go and pick up with his friends when they were younger.”

“Oh, do you wanna go get some?” Xianyi looked at Junhui with raised eyebrows.

“Aren’t the ones from the market good enough?” Fenghuo commented.

Junhui wasn’t planning on telling anyone about the fox he had found, not even them, so he just shrugged his shoulders and smiled nonchalantly. “I just want to.”

The others didn’t really mind, as long as they could have fun catching some fish sounded more than fine.

In the middle of summer, the early afternoon sun shone over the mountain illuminating the path for the children. In between their laughter, the creaking of cicadas surrounded them. Even so, among those many trees, finding the bugs was difficult no matter how much noise they made. The river sounded kind of far away, but it was enough to ground them and let them know where they were.

Along with Lianxin and Mengqian, Junhui had caught the most insects, even holding some of the biggest beetles they had found.

They searched all around, the sound of leaves and branches creaking under their feet even if they were trying to be very quiet to not scare off the bugs.

At one point Fenghuo spotted a giant beetle on a tree, but he couldn’t catch it since it was way too far out of reach and he didn’t know how to climb trees. Both Junhui and Lianxin saw his struggle, he kept jumping while his small arms tirelessly trying to reach for the bug. At first the two of them laughed, but then Junhui went and helped pick him up. Although it surprised him, Fenghuo thanked him and carefully grabbed the beetle.

“Wow, ge you’re really strong,” Fenghuo commented after Junhui put him down.

“Hehe, it’s nothing,” Junhui scratched the back of his neck.

“Hey, are you strong enough to carry me all the way to the river?” Xianyi asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Don’t be annoying A-Yi, you’d only tire him out.”

Lianxin jabbed her with his elbow, but the girl remained unbothered, simply continuing to stare at Junhui with puppy eyes.

Junhui chuckled and nodded, only receiving an eye-roll from Lianxin while Mengqian stared at them with an amused expression.

The kids all continued to roam around, picking insects until their jars were filled.

At the end the one with the most and biggest beetles was surprisingly Xianyi, and so for the rest of the day she was the “king”. With her new “title” she managed to convince Junhui to carry her on his back on the entire way to the river. It was only due to her short height that it didn’t tire him as much as he thought.

Although by the time they had reached the river, Junhui didn’t hesitate on throwing himself on the grass after putting Xianyi down. Mengqian stared at him with pity, while Lianxin scolded the younger girl on abusing her power.

In the end they were all laughing, sitting on the grass and looking at the river running in front of them. The sound was soothing, along with the cries of the cicadas somewhere far off.

It was still not too late in the afternoon, there were still a couple of hours before the sun began to go down, but Junhui didn’t want to leave little Han waiting for too long for some food, mostly in case the demon decided to eat his grandparents if he were to be too hungry. So finally, he stood up and crunched up the ends of his pants, then took off his shoes and stepped into the river. Immediately the coldness from the water hit him, he couldn’t avoid but jump up and yelp. Seeing his reaction, the other kids couldn’t help but laugh. Embarrassed, Junhui turned his face away and focused on finding some fish to take back. A big one would be fine, even bigger than the one his grandfather had brought back from the market. That would definitely be much better than the chicken leftovers he had been giving the demon.

Fortunately there were quite an amount of fishes swimming along the river, but wanting to catch one and actually doing it was easier said than done. Many times he tried to grab one, his hands moving fast whenever he saw one swimming near his legs, but every time it would just slip by.

By every failed attempt he started to grow more irritated, his movements becoming harsher and dumber.

Feeling bad about their friend’s lack of ability to catch one single fish, Mengqian and Fenghuo decided to also help while Lianxin and Xianyi looked out for their bug filled jars. However the two kids quickly realized catching fish with their hands was more difficult than they thought.

Soon it became three kids angrily hitting the water, their moods becoming more and more irritated, until they were even yelling to the fishes to stay put and let themselves be caught.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Junhui managed to catch a big fish. But it wasn’t easy and he ended up falling on the river too, yet his grip on the animal remained strong as he refused on letting go even after swallowing a large amount of water. He let out constant coughs, even after Mengqian and Fenghuo had helped him stand up.

As the three kids walked back to the grass, Xianyi ran up to them with a stick in her hand to stab the fish with. They all admired the large fish on Junhui’s hands, a hungry look appearing on their faces just thinking about eating it up. However, their dreams were soon destroyed as Junhui explained he was taking it home. They all complained and begged him to share it with them, Xianyi even using her “king title” to convince him, but Junhui remained adamant on taking it back home.

“Why would you even take it back? Where will you save it on our way back?” Lianxin questioned, “Won’t it just attract a bunch of flies?”

“I’ll make sure flies don’t get close to it,” Junhui responded with determination.

“Why are you so stubborn about it though?” Fenghuo sighed.

Just as Junhui was planning on a believable explanation without revealing little Han’s existence, Mengqian suddenly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. He stared at her confused, not understanding the frown on her face, until she pointed at his ripped pants and the blood stained on them.

_ Ah. _

Probably some rocks had scrapped him the moment he fell.

“We have to hurry, or else they’ll get infected,” Mengqian furrowed her eyebrows in worry.

Then without waiting for the others’ responses, she just pushed them back towards the path.

It wouldn’t take much longer before the sky began to darken, already turning a mix of red and orange. The kids had begun their way down the mountain path, laughing happily about their many beetles caught in their jars, while Junhui smiled proudly of the big fish he had caught.

Five kids’ laughter resounded around the mountain, mixing along with the cicadas’ cries.

Just as they were midway to the bottom, the kids were too distracted that it took them all by surprise when a small red figure jumped up from the bushes right towards Junhui. However, it didn’t attack him, instead it went directly for the fish in the stick and immediately ran off.

Junhui screamed in surprise and didn’t even hesitate for a second as he ran after the thief of his fish. The other kids yelled after him, but he didn’t listen to them, his mind focused on getting back the fish he had worked so hard to catch.

He didn’t know how far he had ran for when he finally saw a small red fox with the same big fish he had caught on its paws, just about ready to bite into it.

“Hey!”

The fox quickly looked at him in shock and grabbed the fish in between its fauces, ready to start running again. Except this time Junhui wouldn’t let it, and he quickly jumped towards it.

The fox had been taken aback, not expecting this human child to fight back, and so it quickly moved away with the fish still in its mouth. Then ran off.

And so the chase began once again.

The kids had been yelling for Junhui, but they still couldn’t find him. It was starting to darken and if they didn’t go back now it would be much easier for them to get lost too. And so, although reluctant, the four children decided to go back and ask for help from the adults.

It was already late and the kid still hadn’t come back. He had already eaten the chicken leftovers and was waiting for the next meal the child would bring him, but if he took any longer then Jeonghan wouldn’t hesitate on going for the old couple living in this house. Just as that thought passed through his mind he quickly erased it, the kid wouldn’t like that, that’s why he kept giving him chicken.

He climbed down the bed and went to the window, jumping onto the windowsill and looked at the red and orange sky. It was already dawn and wouldn’t take much longer until it began to darken. He didn’t expect the child to be out for so long, although if he thought about it, it wasn’t weird for children to spend time outside. But it was already late, and Jeonghan was sure that no sane human would allow their kids to stay so long outside, especially during the night.

_ Do these people not care for their child? _

He stared at the door, his eyes narrowing as his ears moved back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, this chapter is a bit "longer" compared to the previous ones, but it didn't feel right cutting it shorter. Next chapter will probably be "long" too, still not sure, need to make sure so it doesn't cut up abruptly. Also depending on that, either this Arc will end earlier than I'd planned, or still take a bit longer.  
> On other news, I'm still editing on my own, please forgive any mistakes. Been busy with essays, work, and preparing to study German, which I'm 100% not familiar with, but need to get at least to level B in these five months, so editing will take a step back along with writing. Hopefully I can still keep a certain pace to avoid any hiatus in the future.  
> Thank you so much for following this story, it really motivates me to keep writing. If you're still enjoying leave kudos and comment, thanks!  
> PS. been binge reading a couple of web novels on my free time (黄金台 and 将进酒), and that also has held me back, sorry.


	5. Arc I. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Little Han…” Junhui whispered, the grip on the fish tightening.

Sitting on the windowsill, constantly turning his gaze from the clock in the wall to the darkening sky, Jeonghan couldn’t help but frown. He turned back towards the window, the clouds were gathering together, covering the entire sky. It wouldn’t take long before it began to rain, and it wasn’t going to be a light one. The clouds looked thick and large.

Just as he jumped down and was thinking of going back to the bed to wait for Jun to come back, the hurried steps of small feet outside the window caught his attention. It didn’t take long for a group of childish voices to start yelling.

_“Grandpa Wen! Grandpa Wen!”_

Curious, Jeonghan went back to the window but couldn’t see anything.

_Is the door entrance on the other side?_

Jumping down, he went towards the door and was surprised to find it not closed completely.

_Heh, really, what a foolish child._

With barely any effort, he pulled it open and followed the sound of the voices.

He was careful of not being seen by the old couple, although it would be very difficult for them to find him as they had also ran towards the entrance after the constant yelling from the children.

Hiding behind the wall, he looked out towards the door and was surprised to find four kids around Jun’s same age. However, Jun wasn’t among them. That wasn’t a good sign, he frowned.

_“Grandpa Wen! Grandma Shen! We’re very sorry! We went to the mountain to catch beetles but then also decided to go to the river to catch some fish and just as we were coming down something stole it from us and Junhui decided to go follow it and even after we yelled after him he ignored us and we couldn’t find him and we’re very sorry but we need your help please forgive us I will take whatever punishment you decide on but please first we have to find Junhui!”_

The tallest girl among the kids spoke very quickly and her voice sounded very desperate, more than once breaking. It wasn’t necessary to understand what they were saying, just her tone and their expressions, so pale and full of fear, was enough for Jeonghan to make sense of the situation.

The old couple had worse expressions than the children, and the old woman seemed to be about to collapse from the shock. The old man dragged her back and made her sit on the couch, then went back to the kids, who kept trembling.

Jeonghan didn’t know what he told them, but they all went out and the old man slammed the door close behind him. They were probably going to get help to search for the missing kid.

He sighed, and went back to the kid’s room. He jumped onto the windowsill and with a paw pushed open the window. Immediately the humid summer air hit him straight in the face, ruffling his white silver fur. He closed his eyes and sniffed the air. After a few seconds a bright light surrounded him and a beautiful young male stood crouched on the window sill, his eyes narrowing towards the closest mountain.

“Stupid kid,” he muttered and then leaped off.

As the sky got darker, the clouds became thicker and a humid smell covered the entire town. It would rain soon, and then it would become even more difficult to find a missing kid in the middle of the mountains. But in between all the gloom and turning darkness, a silver figure moved quickly, too fast for the human eye to even catch a sight of it, let alone see clearly what it was.

Knowing that once it began raining it would take a long time until it stopped, Jeonghan moved as quickly as possible, completely ignoring the stinging pain from his injuries that had yet to heal. Maybe it was his confused thoughts, inside his mind was becoming a mess and a mush of feelings he couldn’t understand. But he couldn’t dwell too much on them, rather focused on following the smell from the child.

Once he got his hands on that brat, he would beat some sense into him, Jeonghan swore to himself.

It had become a tug of war between the red fox and Junhui, they each kept pulling the ends of the fish he could clearly hear the ripping sound of flesh from the dead animal. At least it was dead, or else the poor fish would be suffering from such torturous pain.

He didn’t know how long he had been chasing after the fox, nor how far he had ended up from the mountain path. And it was just now that he realized the sky turning cloudy, a clear forewarning for the rain to come. The fox had apparently realized it too, as it was becoming more desperate on stealing his fish. Still, no matter what, Junhui wasn’t about to give it up. It was childish, such stubbornness, but he really wanted to give that fish to little Han. Maybe it would help him heal much more quickly!

Right as it seemed like the red fox was about to win, it suddenly cowered. Its body became smaller, as it quickly let go of the fish, and pulled back its head in a clear submissive way. It had started trembling. It let out a small yelp and then ran off, leaving behind a very confused Junhui with a poor manhandled fish in his hands.

However, before he could even begin questioning what had happened, a sharp pain rose on his head as a hand smacked him, although not strong enough to knock him out or leave any wound.

_“You damn stupid brat!”_

A familiar voice yelled behind him in a language he couldn’t understand, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t recognize it.

He quickly turned around and looked up, finding himself staring at a pair of golden eyes filled with anger, yet there seemed to be something else hidden deep inside them he couldn’t quite figure out.

Long silver locks moved around with the strong wind from the incoming rain, although it didn’t appear to be the just that that had them moving so wildly. The young man was frowning, his glare sharp and his mouth a thin line that looked like it was holding back dozens of words.

“Little Han…” Junhui whispered, the grip on the fish tightening.

That movement didn’t go missing by Jeonghan, the corner of his mouth twitching at the sight of the fish in the kid’s hand.

_Was that brat really fighting against a mere cub for some stupid fish?_

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, all Jeongan did was continue glaring at the child.

However, it didn’t seem to affect the boy, as he simply put up the big fish and shoved it towards him. Jeonghan raised an eyebrow in question.

_“For you, little Han,”_ he said, a bright hopeful expression in his ink black eyes Jeonghan couldn’t help but turn away for a second.

_What the hell? Also, what did he call me? That’s the second time._

Junhui frowned as he saw the young man turning away, but as he looked clearly, he could see a blush forming in his face.

_Oh._

Something inside of him moved, and his wish to give this fish (and even more food in the future) to little Han became stronger. He pushed the dead animal and spoke more determined:

“For you.”

He repeated the same words, and along with his actions, Jeonghan could understand more or less what this child meant. Still, he stared at the poor manhandled fish in the kid’s hand, he couldn’t help but question this child’s decisions.

Why go through so much trouble just for a damn fish? He had eaten much bigger animals and demons before he got here, in his eyes this big fish wasn’t any different than the chicken leftovers. Although compared to those, this kind of looked more pleasing, even if it doesn’t compare to the meals he had back home.

Then it hit him.

Did this child wanted to give him something “better” than the chicken?

On his vague memories, Jeonghan remembered he would often give this kind of thing to that person when he was still a child.

" _This fish is much better than the chicken, right?_ "

The kid looked up at him with an expectant gaze, his eyes sparkling.

"Even though you barely know me, a demon, you're willing to fight a wild animal just because I didn't like some leftovers?" Jeonghan looked at him amused, a cocked eyebrow and the corner of his lips raised in a smirk.

" _Please don't make fun of me,_ " he probably felt Jeonghan was mocking him from his expression, as the child looked up at him pouting.

With a sigh, Jeonghan took the dead fish then turned around, giving his back to Jun. The child tilted his head, confused.

In just a few seconds he had turned back around and was facing the child once again; however, there was only a fish bone body in his hands. Simply ignoring the child's startled face, Jeonghan threw it away and then stepped towards him.

With an expression of mild annoyance, he knelt down and looked at the child's scraped knee. He frowned and carried the kid in his arms.

With swift and quick steps he arrived at the river. At first the child was startled by suddenly being carried, but once Jeonghan started moving, he closed his eyes and gripped tightly on his robe. Now that Jeonghan had stopped, the kid finally opened his eyes, but was surprised to see the river.

Jeonghan put him down on a rock, then walked towards the river. He tore a piece of his sleeve and let it wet a bit, before walking back to the child.

The kid looked at him confused, but the moment Jeonghan knelt down and began to gently clean his wound, his eyes opened wide in surprise. But he couldn't even speak, letting out a hiss the moment the wet cloth came in contact with the open skin.

For the entire moment no one spoke a word. Jeonghan was focused on cleaning the child's wound, and then covered it with another tore piece of robe. Whatever, he could ask that person to fix it when he went back.

After he was done, the child stood up and jumped a few times to show Jeonghan he was fine. He found it a bit funny and cute, and let the kid indulge himself.

After the child had stopped, he looked at Jeonghan with a bright and happy expression, no words were needed to express his thanks. Flustered, Jeonghan grabbed onto the kid's hand and dragged him through the forest.

He didn't look at the tall trees surrounding them, nor did he care about the lack of light passing through the heavy tree's foliage on top. Except for the sound of leaves and branches crushing under their feet, he didn't pay mind to the creakes of cicadas and crickets.

As they walked through the trees back to the mountain path, Junhui kept staring at the hand holding his. It was much bigger than his own, with beautiful slender fingers, and a bit paler than his, although not to the point of being completely white, it had a healthy color. But it also felt cold, not like the warmth of his parents’ or grandparents’ hands, even Ming Wen’s hand he had been forced to hold on a school play was warm. Only little Han’s was different, yet he didn’t feel uncomfortable; somehow Junhui could feel a protective layer mixed in that coldness.

It was already dark, the moon light could barely illuminate the mountain path, if he were to be alone Junhui would have probably already gotten lost, but now that he was accompanied by him he felt a lot safer.

To be honest Junhui didn’t expect the demon would come for him, he could already imagine his grandparents worried about him. However, the moment he remembered that moment little Han took the fish and ate it, almost as if reluctantly pleasing him, it made him chuckle and smile wide. This fox demon was quite cute.

He looked up at the older man’s back, straight and with wide shoulders, beautifully highlighted by the red outer robe he was wearing. The white brush hung low barely visible under the ends of the robe.

He was a lot taller compared to Junhui, he hadn’t realized it earlier as the demon had always been sitting or lying down. But now that he looked carefully, Junhui could clearly see the height difference. Weirdly, he didn’t like that height difference much, it was much harder to reach out and pet the pair of white fluff ears if little Han was taller than him.

It would be good if in the future he was the tallest one between the two.

As soon as that thought came Junhui quickly erased it away, after all he didn’t intend on keeping the fox demon, and he probably also had a home to go back to. He was only here to heal from his injuries.

The wounds!

Junhui looked at him with wide eyes full of worry, trying to peak at the bandages to make sure he was okay.

But the young man didn’t let him, even if Junhui hurried his steps and managed to walk by his side.

_“Foolish child, why are you even worried about me when you almost got lost here?”_

The man chuckled, clearly aware of his actions. Junhui flushed in embarrassment, realizing he had been caught. The look the man gave him was full of amusement, as if he found Junhui’s actions funny.

They continued to walk hand in hand. Here and there were the sounds of owls and crickets, and further off could be heard the running water from the river. On the mountain path there wasn’t as much heavy foliage from the trees compared to the way they had come from, so the moonlight illuminated the road much better.

However, if back when Junhui was walking with his friends there were quite the amount of animals that would make noise, now that Jeonghan was by his side there were near to no sign of animals near them.

Among the path on the mountain, the silhouettes of a demon and a child walked side by side, one big hand holding a smaller one. The moon illuminated their way, and on the ground the pair of shadows seemed to contradict their current heights, for the child’s was larger than the demon’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some nice moments of Jeonghan caring for Junnie, and Junnie starting to catch The Feels~ along with some look into Jeonghan's life back home...  
> Also, good news and bad news  
> Good news are we're close to finishing this arc, already went through it and at most it'll be two more chapters and then the first time skip!! The next arc will be Arc 1.5 and you'll later see why, but we're closer to seeing grown up Junhui~ *throws confetti*  
> Bad news are next week I may not update, which is why I've decided to update today, albeit a bit late  
> Finally, let's all wish happy birthday to our maknae and future of k-pop, Lee Chan~ who will also later appear in this story along with the rest of the members, so look forward to that  
> If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave kudos and comment~ thanks!


	6. Arc I. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Thank you."

When Junhui finally made it back home he hesitated on knocking on the door. He turned to look at the demon, but he had already changed back into his fox form and was walking towards the back of the house, where Junhui’s room was. Obviously he wasn’t intending on helping Junhui; not like he could, though.

The moment he was about to knock, a yell coming from behind stopped him.

“Little Jun!”

That was his grandfather’s voice!

Immediately the door swung open and his grandmother came into face. Junhui couldn’t say much before he was pulled into his grandmother’s arms.

He could hear his friends calling his name in relief, the guilt invaded him, regretting his action a bit. He didn’t want to worry the others.

After apologizing to his friends and grandparents, Junhui went back to his room. Although he had been grounded for the rest of the week, at least he could stay with little Han until he got better and could get back home.

However, when he went into his room, Junhui was surprised to find the fox on his bed already asleep. It was trembling a lot too, which scared him a lot. Quickly running towards it, he touched its back, but immediately pulled back his hand, his eyes wide in fear and worry. It was ice cold.

Not knowing what to do, Junhui ran back towards the closet and pulled out a blanket then hurried back and enveloped the fox in the warm cloth.

Only after he felt the fox calm down, did Junhui finally breathed out a sigh of relief.

After taking a shower and changing into his pajamas, Junhui went towards the bed. Seeing the fox sleeping soundly, enveloped in the blanket, he smiled.

However, every few seconds the fox would slightly tremble. He frowned. Carefully pulling the wrapped fox into his arms, Junhui lied down and covered himself in a blanket.

Only after he had put the fox in between his arms in a hug did it finally stop trembling completely, breathing in and out calmly.

In the middle of the night, Jeonghan opened his eyes in a daze, his sight slightly blurry. Although he wasn't completely awake, with his conscience drifting on and off, he could make out the sleeping face of the child.

He felt the arms around his body, yet he didn't find them uncomfortable. Instead, there was a gentle warmth. A warmth he had been missing.

Perhaps it wasn't so bad staying here for a while.

During the entire next day Jeonghan didn't wake up, maintaining his fox form. At first Junhui was scared, but after seeing him breathing calmly and no longer trembling, he finally relaxed.

It took only a day for Jeonghan to restore his powers. And although his wounds had reopened, he didn't show it to Junhui.

It wasn't until the following day that Junhui kept glaring at Jeonghan with the first aid kit in his hands, did the older sighed reluctantly and finally changed into his human form.

The bandages were indeed bloodstained from the reopened wounds. Yet Jeonghan kept acting as if he was fine after Junhui had removed the bandages, chuckling at his worried gaze.

Annoyed by the demon, Junhui slapped the water cloth into one of the wounds.

"Ack!"

"Hmph!"

Completely ignoring Jeonghan's pained expression, Junhui continued to clean the injuries and then bandaged them once again.

While Junhui was busy saving everything back into the kit, Jeonghan stared at him while playing with the hem of his outer robe sleeve, golden eyes narrowing. Junhui was unaware of his stare, simply making sure everything was in its place before closing it up.

Just as Junhui had stood up and was about to leave to put the kit back in its place, the low, yet soft, voice from the young man behind stopped him.

"Thank you."

It was spoken in Chinese, albeit with a very obvious accent. Yet it still took Junhui by surprise, and he quickly turned to look at Jeonghan, only to find him already asleep in the bed.

Sighing, he left the room.

After there wasn't anyone else, Jeonghan opened his eyes and stared at the closed door the child had left from. He at least knew that word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, short chapter, but if tomorrow I finish studying early, then I'll post the next one, which is longer and also this Arc's final chapter. Then a kind of interlude and then we finally get to the real Slow Burn. Gonna warn you this is gonna get sad and frustrating for a while, so keep a tissue ready to bite haha when we get there. From there on we'll get some time skips and new character introductions~ so please look forward to that  
> Hope you enjoyed this little early update, tomorrow we'll get to the real end of this Arc (hopefully), please leave kudos and comments, and as a gift you get a quick sketch I did last year of [fox jeonghan](http://trasshxt.tumblr.com/post/189027737225/au-for-a-fanfic-im-writing)  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://cygnustrash.tumblr.com) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


	7. Arc I. Chapter Seven (End)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So you already know I have to leave,” Jeonghan sighed, staring at Jun with a complicated feeling.

For the rest of the month and a half Junhui stayed in his grandparents' home, most of the time he spent it with Jeonghan.

Although the demon did seem to enjoy passing the time sleeping, at some point he didn’t mind accompanying the child whenever Junhui wanted to go play on the mountain, always making sure he stayed safe and didn't wander off. Slowly, but surely, Jeonghan began to recover and his wounds to heal, along with recuperating his spiritual powers, so even if Junhui was going out with his friends, he would hide his presence from the others while still watching over the child. Only Junhui could see him flying above them, or walking leisurely behind them.

Even if they couldn't communicate with words due to the language barrier, sometimes they didn't need them to get the message through to the other.

Later on, after Jeonghan started to feel better and all his injuries had healed, he began to prepare to go back to Korea. However, the more time he spent with Junhui, he felt reluctant to part with the kid. The boy reminded him of his younger sibling a lot.

As the summer break came closer to its end, Junhui knew soon he would go back home with his parents to prepare for school. He didn't know that Jeonghan was already getting better and pretty much had completely healed, so he felt worried about leaving the demon behind by himself, no one else could take care of him. And he still didn't know where he had come from.

As the day to go back home got closer, Junhui knew he had to know where little Han came from. He didn't want to leave him behind, but also knew taking the demon with him was impossible.

An idea came to his mind.

Junhui ran to his grandfather's study, opening the door slightly to make sure he wasn't there. Breathing in relief after he didn't find his grandfather there, Junhui walked in and began to search through the bookshelves for a book with a map.

After discarding four books with only maps of China, Junhui finally found one with at least all of Asia.

Silently cheering in victory, he put the rest of the books in their places and then went back to his room.

Jeonghan had been lying on the bed in his fox form about to fall asleep, when the door slamming open started him.

" _ Little Han! _ "

The child called out to him, running into the room and closing the door behind him.

He still felt that the way the child called him wasn't entirely right, but couldn't figure out why since he didn't understand the first word.

"What?" Jeonghan looked at the book in Jun's hand, "What's that book about?"

The kid saw Jeonghan looking at the book and smiled widely, dropping it on the bed. He opened it on a specific page and a map of Asia came into view, then he pushed it towards Jeonghan.

"A map? Why… oh! I understand!"

With his right index finger, Jeonghan pointed at Korea on the map.

Looking at where the demon was pointing, Junhui opened his eyes wide in realization, and then turned to stare at the young man.

So it was Korea, the place he came from.

But instead of getting answers, Junhui was even more confused now. How can a Korean fox demon suddenly appear in China?

He looked at the map with narrowed eyes, frowning as if trying to understand.

Then a question appeared in his mind:  _ how can little Han return back home? _

“Can demons teletransport?” Junhui wondered out loud.

“ _ Why do you want to know where I’m from? _ ”

The other suddenly asked, but Junhui couldn’t understand anything of what he said, so he just stared at him confused.

“ _ Hmm… _ “ the demon pointed at Korea on the map, and then asked looking at Junhui’s eyes, “ _ Why? _ ”

Seeming to finally understand his question, Junhui simply smiled, before taking back the book with him. He didn’t say anything else and just left the room to go put the book back at its place, leaving behind a very confused fox demon.

Junhui knew, at some point they would part ways, but he didn’t want this to be the last time to see the demon.

When he went back into the room, this time he was holding two pieces of paper and a pen. The young man didn’t seem to understand what his intentions were, merely staring at him in amusement.

After Junhui finished writing his own name in one of the pieces of paper, he gave the pen and the other piece to the demon. The other male didn’t seem to get what Junhui was trying to do, just looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

“My name, Wen Junhui” Junhui pointed at himself and the paper with his name, then pointed at the blank piece and at the young man, “Your name.”

“???”

Jeonghan looked at the three Chinese characters in the paper, and then at the child. It took him awhile before he could more or less get the idea of what the kid was intending. He took the paper and pen, and wrote his own name in it.

As soon as he finished, Jun pushed his piece of paper at him, then with a questioning gaze grabbed the end of the one with Jeonghan’s name. Chuckling, Jeonghan nodded at him and let him take it.

The child eyed the Korean characters and tilted his head, he obviously couldn’t understand what it said.

“So you already know I have to leave,” Jeonghan sighed, staring at Jun with a complicated feeling.

Jun was a good child, although very mischievous. He liked playing pranks on his friends, but when necessary, along with the other girl, he acted like a very good older brother. There were also the times he enjoyed teasing Jeonghan, and as much as the oldest hated to admit, he also never hesitated on teasing him back.

Not eating the child on that night, when he had just awoken, didn't seem like a bad decision.

Two days later Junhui’s parents came for him. At first Jeonghan didn’t understand the relationship between that couple and Junhui, until he saw Junhui’s grandparents receiving them with warmth, along with the way they had reacted at seeing the child. They had hugged him, huge smiles on their faces, and the same with Junhui.

His parents stayed for lunch to talk a bit with the old couple, meanwhile Junhui went to bid goodbye to his friends, promising, as always, to meet again next summer. All the previous times he had come during summer vacation, they said the same thing, and Junhui always went back. They used to have another child in their group two years ago, but that child’s family moved overseas and so they never saw that friend again. No one talked about it, but they all had a certain fear that one day they would all break apart, with some moving far away or even leaving the country.

Aware of what was going on the moment the kid’s parents arrived, Jeonghan knew that it was also his time to leave.

Some days ago he had sent a letter to one of his close friends through a demon crow he had met during a time he accompanied the child and his friends to the mountain, and he had already gotten an answer where they said they could come pick him up, so he didn’t have to worry about the transportation and money. It was much better than he had expected, and he wouldn’t have to spend spiritual energy nor any money. Jeonghan congratulated himself for choosing a friend who already owed him quite a lot and couldn’t say ‘no’ to him.

Now he just had to somehow explain to the kid he was leaving. For some reason, thinking about telling the child, Jeonghan felt hesitant. Yet he didn't understand why, it wasn't like that kid meant anything to him, he just helped him with his injuries and offered him a place to stay. Also, in the future it was most probably the child wouldn't even remember him; a pang surged in his chest as Jeonghan thought about that.

"Jeonghan, I'm here," a voice spoke behind him.

He turned around and met with a young man seeming of his same age, although a bit slimmer and shorter by a few millimeters.

"Ah, Jisoo, thanks for coming, you really saved me here," Jeonghan smiled, putting an arm around the other male as he patted himself in the chest.

He had been standing at the feet of the mountain, thinking on whether he should say goodbye to Jun or just leave without telling him. Now, seeing that his friend had arrived, Jeonghan decided on the second option.

There was a slight feeling of guilt, but Jeonghan consoled himself by keeping in mind the fact that as Jun grows up, he would forget about him. The memories of meeting a fox demon would be like the summer haze, blurry, with no form.

"So, how are we getting back?" Jeonghan followed the other, holding himself from looking back.

"I had to ask for help from a friend, and fortunately he lent me his car. So from here we're driving to Guangzhou, and there we'll go to the airport; I already got the tickets," Jisoo explained as he guided Jeonghan towards the car he had parked not far from the mountain.

"How did you even manage to find this town?" Jeonghan asked. He didn't even know where he was.

"The crow you sent told me, and then I just used GPS. It wasn't that hard," he shrugged his shoulders and got into the car.

Jeonghan oh-ed and got in too.

"The real question is how the heck did you manage to get your ass all the way to the south of China?" Jisoo looked at him, almost exasperated.

"That's a good question I also would like an answer to, I didn't even know in which part of China I was," Jeonghan raised his hands with palms open in self defense. "To be honest I don't remember much, just that I was fighting someone or something, and then they knocked me out and when I woke up I was already here."

Jisoo sighed and no longer asked him more. Jeonghan smiled nonchalant and turned to look at the window, he reached one hand into his sleeve and felt a piece of paper. Taking it out he found it was the paper with the kid's name; he didn't look at it more and saved it once more into his sleeve.

And just like that he left a town which he didn't even know its name, leaving behind a kid Jeonghan was sure would never remember him.

When Junhui went back to his grandparents' home, his parents told him to go for his things. He nodded and went to the room, already planning out how to tell little Han he was leaving. Just thinking about seeing the fox demon for the last time made him sad, yet there was no other way.

However, the moment Junhui opened the door, instead of meeting with the demon who would usually lie on his bed lazily, what greeted him was an empty room. The bed had been done neatly, and everything was where it used to be. There were no traces of the plates Junhui had used to serve the demon food. The only evidence that demonstrated the demon had ever been there, were the bandages lying on the bed. They had been washed clean and carefully rolled up, as if they had never been used.

"Han? Little Han?" Junhui asked, his voice almost a whisper.

He moved around the room, repeating the same words as searched all over. However, he couldn't find any trace of the other.

"Little Han," he started to speak a bit louder, calling the demon's name repeatedly.

Yet he continued to receive no answer, not even a sound as a response. It was as if the demon had vanished.

He stood still in the middle of the room, not knowing what else to do.

Was it all just a long dream? No, the bandages were there, the paper with his name…

Junhui ran to the desk and pulled open the left drawer, finding a piece of paper folded. He opened it and found the three black characters, even if he couldn’t read them he knew these were his name, this was proof that the fox demon he had met was real. He gripped tightly onto it and saved it in his pants.

This was the only thing that would stop him from forgetting. He wouldn’t forget, no matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're done with this arc!! *throws confetti* They have to break apart for now, but don't worry, they'll meet again later. Next we'll have a short interlude, which is the first time skip, and then we can jump into the plot, along with explaining how jeonghan landed on china.  
> Gonna be honest, I kinda shot myself in the foot because the entire point of this was small cute fluff one shot of childhood friends meeting again in the future, but then plot happened, and the world ended up getting bigger and now there's lore, so this is gonna be kind of a pretty long fic, which I really wasn't expecting.  
> Hope you enjoyed this arc and look forward to next one, please leave kudos and comments!  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://cygnustrash.tumblr.com) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


	8. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twelve years later

Sitting in the waiting area of the airport, a handsome young man played on his phone while a middle aged man kept on rambling about his schedule. Junhui only nodded, and hummed in response whenever he was asked a question, his brows furrowed as his eyes under black sunglasses focused completely on the game on the screen.

Usually it wasn't like this when they traveled to other cities for schedules, Junhui always paid close attention to what the middle aged man said, listening to his words. Yet now that he was going abroad, the young man seemed to be way too engrossed in his mobile game.

Anyone could see from a distance that was no ordinary young man, even if he was wearing simple casual clothes with his hair hidden under a hat, the aura around him was definitely one of a celebrity, it wasn't just the young women and girls taking pictures from afar. The middle aged man frowned at the people taking pictures, he dialed a number and a few minutes later those girls were taken away by the security personnel.

"Lao Lu, how long till we board?"

The man turned to look at the younger man and couldn't help but sigh.

"I told you earlier, it would take at least one more hour, did you really not listen?"

"Ah, I'm sorry," Junhui saved his phone in his pants pocket and took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes, with a tinge of childishness hidden in them. "I'm just kind of nervous, since it is my first time visiting Korea."

"What? No point getting all nervous now, you were the one to insist on getting plane tickets as soon as the president gave you your vacations," he humphed, glaring at the young man who turned to look at his phone once again.

"Haha, I'm sorry, I just got excited during the moment," his voice sounded embarrassed, and the tips of his ears had gotten red.

"Just be careful. A friend of mine who speaks Korean will be waiting for you there to take you to the hotel, call her in case you need help," Lao Lu handed him a paper with a number.

Junhui thanked him and took it, then saved it into his wallet and once again looked at his phone.

"I'm telling you it'll take one more hour," the older man sighed, "why are you so impatient?"

Junhui merely laughed embarrassed, and apologized, saving his phone back in his pocket. He couldn't tell his manager why he was acting that way; why it felt like hundreds of butterflies were tumbling all over his stomach, threatening to fly up and spill out his mouth; why his feet couldn't stop tapping on the floor, or his fingers on the armrest.

The growing excitement at the pit of his stomach only continued to grow the closer the time for boarding came.

After a long flight, the plane finally landed in South Korea's capital, Seoul. Once done with all the procedures, with luggage in hand Junhui walked towards the international exit. As expected, there were a lot of people outside.

Junhui squinted his eyes searching for the woman Lao Lu had described.

In between the sea of people a woman dressed in a black suit came out, walking towards him with firm steps and a phone in hand. She looked at the phone, and then back at him, for a moment Junhui thought she was a fan trying to recognize him. However, the moment she looked back on her phone, she typed something and then looked at him with an amused expression.

“So you’re the boy Brother Lu sent me to take care of,” she spoke in fluent mandarin, “I’m Mei Minghua, an old friend of his.”

“Uhm, yes, Wen Junhui, please take care of me while I stay here,” he greeted, bowing a bit.

Now that he looked well at her, she was taller for a woman, even if she was wearing heels, standing almost at his height. If she was an old friend Lao Lu, then maybe she was in her thirties, but Junhui didn’t dare to ask.

On their way to the parking lot, Minghua gave him the address for the hotel Lao Lu had booked and more or less what was around the area, including a metro station so he could travel a bit more easily. She kept her words concise and clear, giving him any details of information that may be necessary during his stay.

At the end he didn’t even need to ask for her number, in case he needed help, as she gave it to him after helping him ask for his room to the reception.

“Uhm, Sister Mei,” Junhui spoke before she left, and she turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, “Are you sure you’re okay helping me while I stay here?”

“Sure, Brother Lu asked me to, and you’re the kid he cares a lot about,” she nodded, her voice tone simple and professional.

“Uh, then can you help me search for someone?”

Junhui looked at her expectant.

“What makes you think I can search for a person among all the people in Korea?”

“You look more reliable than Lao Lu,” Junhui commented, his eyes sparkling with hope.

She laughed, then nodded, finally smiling, “You’re right, I’m more reliable than him. Also, you call him old and use sister for me, those are bonus points. Give me the name and age.”

Hearing the last word, Junhui hesitated, his eyes avoiding looking at her.

Finally, he took out a folded piece of paper from his wallet and carefully handed it to her. She looked at him weirdly by the way he held the paper, but still grabbed it and read the three characters written in ink. Although the corners seemed spent, the letters were still readable with no single stain or blur.

“Yoon Jeonghan?”

Hearing Minghua speaking the name fluently, Junhui’s eyes widened and his feet faltered, only managing to hold himself by grabbing onto the car’s door still opened. Even if the voice that had spoken was female, all he could hear was a familiar soft and low male voice repeating that same name.

“Wen Junhui!”

The woman looked at him frowning. Junhui shook his head, keeping that voice once again locked in his memory so as to not get distracted.

“I asked you, what’s his age? Unless you don’t give me some more details, it’ll be very difficult for me to find this person.”

She shook the piece of paper in her hand, and for a moment Junhui wanted to take it back and save it once again, but held himself back. He thought about her question, thinking back to the time he met Jeonghan.

“Mid-twenties,” he responded, after all, Jeonghan was a demon and thus probably hadn’t aged. Hopefully, or else it would be more difficult to find him.

“Hm, that’s good enough, I think,” Minghua scratched her chin, then nodded, “Fine, I’ll call or text you if I find anything. Meanwhile, start getting used to the language and the place, from what I see, you’re not planning on going back home any time soon.”

Junhui simply smiled, closed the car’s door and grabbed his luggage, then waved her good-bye.

He looked at the number of his room, and then walked towards the lift. For now he was on his own, and if he wanted to avoid inconveniencing Minghua, then the faster he learned and got used to the city, the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Completely forgot to update, sorry. I'm changing updates to every Monday, although chapters will be short, mostly because the incoming arc is pretty... slow, I think. Stuff gets explained tho. It's not too long too. Also, the showbiz stuff isn't really main plot, but it's still important for Junnie's character. This fic isn't showbiz, I have another one for that, although still on hiatus (sorry). Plot will pick up on much later chapters (which I've already written, dw we will get there)  
> Hope you're enjoying reading, please leave kudos and comments, subscribe and bookmark too!  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://cygnustrash.tumblr.com) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


	9. Arc II. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One year later

“How much longer are you gonna stay there? Are you even thinking of coming back at all?”

The man’s voice yelling in his ear made him flinch away from the phone. Junhui stared at Minghua with a helpless expression, yet the woman didn’t pay him any mind, focused on typing something on her own phone.

“It’s been more than a year already! What about your work? You’re still way too young to even think about retiring!”

“I’m not gonna retire,” Junhui frowned, “I’d already asked President Zhao and Sister Mei to help me find any good deals here,” he paused, “Hadn’t you seen the movie projects I did within the agency’s program?”

There was a sudden silence on the other side of the line, only broken by the sound of furious typing on a keyboard, along with the rustle of papers. Junhui sighed, wondering what had Lao Lu been doing this last year; maybe the president had given him a new actor or model to raise.

“Fucking Zhao Ziquan,” Lao Lu gritted his teeth, low enough to not be heard by anyone else, although Junhui did and couldn’t help but chuckle. “He didn’t tell me! I can’t believe Mei-Mei got you such jobs.”

“She’s pretty awesome when it comes to dealing with producers and studio executives,” Junhui commented, laughing as he remembered the time she avoided him from getting underpaid compared to the other actors even though his role was also important.

“Ah! Of course little Mei will be so awesome!” Lao Lu exclaimed, the pride in his voice more than obvious.

“Then, you don’t need to worry much while I’m here, Lao Lu,” Junhui chuckled, trying to placate his manager.

“Wait- why do you still call me Lao Lu, but call little Mei ‘sister’? I’m not even that old!”

“Bye-bye Lao Lu, take care,” Junhui hung up before the other could start complaining.

Finally finished typing on her phone, Minghua turned to look at Junhui, then showed him her phone. In it was a photo of a handsome young man with short grey silver hair. Although only his profile was visible, one could easily see he was extremely good-looking, along with the firm back and shoulders plus his hands in the pant pockets, but it was his gaze that was the most eye-catching.

“Are you still sure you’re not going to go look for him?”

Minghua took back her phone after not seeing any reaction from the younger male.

She still remembered the first time she had showed him a photo of the person Junhui had asked to search for, his widened eyes, and the gasp he had let out the moment his sight laid on the picture she had gotten, how he had held himself back from grasping the phone in her hands. Yet now, the young man simply stared at it for a while before turning away, focusing on anything else that was at his reach.

Junhui simply shook his head, going back to chatting with Yanan on his phone.

“As soon as you arrived, you asked me to search for this person, yet now you refuse to go meet him?” Minghua sighed, saving her phone, “I’m not going to force you to find him, but after these movies come out it’ll be more difficult for you to see him. You should take advantage of the fact that you’re still not recognizable to the Korean public.”

“It’s still not the right moment. Besides, although acting in these films here has helped me with the language, I’m still not comfortable enough to go talk to him without fearing I may say something wrong,” Junhui saved his phone after deciding on a place with his friend, “What’s the next job?”

“A new movie,” Junhui raised an eyebrow hearing this, Minghua continued explaining, “it’s mainly mystery, romance and urban fantasy. I’ll send you the script later along with a translation, right now you should go back.”

Minghua stood from the chair behind the desk and guided Junhui to the door of her office.

After leaving Minghua’s office, Junhui walked back to the place he was staying at. Fortunately his old childhood friend, Yan An, had agreed to take him in, since Junhui didn’t want to stay in the hotel for such a long period of time.

Stepping into the building, Junhui walked straight towards the elevator. Behind him the doors to the building slid open, and two people walked over. However, they were a bit too late and by the time they had reached the lift, Junhui hadn’t seen them as he was distracted typing on his phone, and thus pressed the button to close the doors.

The two young men, one with silver hair and the other blonde, stared at the lighting numbers with disappointment.

“Damn it’s always the same, do I really have such little presence?” The blond young man looked at the other.

“No, I think he was just too distracted, I’d say you rather have way too much presence” the silver haired male laughed.

“Ah, Jeonghan hyung, are you mocking me?”

“Nope,” the guy snickered, and with hands in his pockets walked back to the entrance, “Tell hyung I’ll be busy for a while, there’s some unpleasant people following me.”

The blonde man helplessly nodded, waved him good-bye and turned back to wait for the elevator.

Back on the apartment, Junhui found Yan An watching some variety show while also working on his studies. Hearing the sound of the door from the entrance opening and closing, the young man turned around and greeted Junhui, before going back to focusing on studying for the next exams.

Sitting on the other sofa, Junhui grabbed his laptop and opened his mail, the script Minghua had commented on had already been sent. He opened the file and after reading the title 《Branch Road》 he went on to the rest, sometimes stopping to search for a translation of a sentence or word he didn’t understand. The more he read, the more he found it very interesting. Modern fantasy was something he was very interested in, and the mystery was a really good addition, along with the usual romantic pairing that surprisingly didn’t feel overbearing.

“A couple of college friends invited me to go out this weekend, since exams would be over by then they were planning on going to eat Korean bbq,” Yan An commented turning to look at him, taking a break from his studies, “do you wanna come? They say the more people the better.”

“Sure,” Junhui looked away from his laptop screen. “Just tell me the time, I don’t think sister Minghua has anything scheduled for me for that day.”

“Great, I’ll tell you later the hour, it’ll probably be at night.”

Later in the evening Yan An had gone back to the school for an exam, while Junhui stayed home playing games on his phone.

Weekend night after exams was the perfect time for students to go out and relax, forget for a moment about their studies and future plans. Loud laughter and cheering came from a bbq restaurant, sound of glasses clinking against each other and the mouth watering provoking noise of meat sissing against the iron grills over hot coal. A mixed group of college students sat around two long tables, the source of all the noise that could be heard from the outside.

“Waa~ you should invite Junhui more often to our outings, Yanan, how could you keep him all to yourself?”

One of the guys, Woohan, spoke, his voice cheerful with some words slurring. Junhui laughed along to his words, while Yanan didn’t know how to respond, suddenly feeling offended by his classmate assuming he hadn’t tried many times to bring Junhui with him.

“I’ve tried to! But his boss doesn’t give him that many days-off,” Yan An complained, frowning while munching on a piece of meat.

“Must be tough, not getting to go out and have fun, the girls that you must have missed,” another guy, Sukjin, spoke with an over dramatic tone, pouring a glass of soju to Junhui, “Here, have a drink for all the girls you didn’t have the chance to go out with.”

Junhui chuckled, a bit flustered by the guy’s words. Yan An merely gave him a helpless smile, as if he was already used to his classmate’s drunken antics.

“Girls, that’s all you talk about, as if there was nothing else in that empty head of yours.”

Opening his eyes wide, Junhui turned to one of the other guys sitting on the table, merely rolling his eyes at guys’ actions. However, it wasn’t exactly what he had spoken that had caught Junhui’s attention, rather the language he had spoken them in. Fluent Chinese.

It was expected for colleges to have foreign students, like Yan An, and it didn’t weird him out when they had arrived and he had seen some foreign young adults sitting among the other Korean students. However, Junhui had thought only him and Yan An, along with a girl sitting a bit further, were the only Chinese people in the table, since he hadn’t exactly heard this guy talking until now.

“Even though you spoke Chinese, I can feel you judging me, Myeongho-ah,” Sukjin looked at the guy who had spoken with a wronged expression.

“You’re right. Seems that airhead of yours does work,” Myeongho laughed, along with the rest of the people around the table who had heard their words.

While everyone else was laughing, Sukjin acted as if he was sulking, “Kids these days don’t know how to respect their elders,” he gulped a glass of soju and soon the laughter around turned louder.

Junhui laughed along. Yan An clinked glasses with him, asking with his eyes if he was having fun. Junhui nodded, smiling brightly as he continued eating and talking with the rest of the college students around the table.

The restaurant continued with a vivid ambience, between the people filling the restaurant, from adults to young adults and teenagers.

In between the people Junhui talked with, he did manage to extend some words with Myeongho, whose actual name was Xu Minghao. Since they weren’t sitting that far from each other, almost one in front of the other, they could talk without having to yell.

After presenting himself, right as he spoke his name, Junhui saw Minghao’s eyes narrowing and change for less than a second into aquamarine instead of their dark brown. At first Junhui thought it had been his imagination, a product of the alcohol making effect, and quickly brushed it off.

Not far from the noisy restaurant where they were staying, three young men were walking on the dark streets, two with black hair and one with silver hair. Staring at the other side of the street, the lamps hanging on the establishment's entrance illuminated the silhouettes of a bunch of young adults through the bamboo curtains.

A pair of golden eyes glinted with coldness, his sight entirely focused on the restaurant. There was something weird yet familiar coming from that place.

“Ah! That’s the restaurant Mingyu told me about!”

“Eh?” Jeonghan turned to look at Seungcheol, suddenly getting out of his trance.

“The one Myeongho goes to with his classmates, Mingyu also goes a lot there with them,” Jisoo commented, deep black eyes narrowing, “He’s probably there since exams have just finished.”

“Oh.”

_Maybe that’s why._

“Let’s go there another day, the meat must be very tasty,” Jeonghan glanced one last time at it, amused, then turned around and continued walking with the other two.

Out of nowhere, Junhui felt like someone he knew had just passed by, yet as he turned around all he could see was the beige, horizontal bamboo curtain blocking the outside view. He shook his head, believing it could’ve been his imagination, and then went back to talking with Woohan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time skip again~ fate is really tough on those two, but they'll meet again~  
> If you're enjoying it please leave some kudos, comments and subscribe or bookmark  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://cygnustrash.tumblr.com) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)
> 
> PS. will definitely not drop this fic, maybe in the future updates will slow, but listen, there's so few junhan content I need to feed myself, and I'm gonna be honest this fic is mostly self-indulging, but i'll do my best to feed any other starving junhan fan out there


	10. Arc II. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> However, life wasn’t how we all wanted it to be.

Getting back to his apartment, Jeonghan dropped himself on the couch and looked at a crumpled piece of paper in his hand. Its marks of folding were very visible, yet the three ink written characters had remained just as clear as the first time they had been written. A pair of golden eyes stared at it, ripples of emotions surging through them yet still remaining hidden under a cold layer of mist.

Thirteen years, he thought, and he still couldn’t forget about him. Jeonghan sighed, crumpling the piece of paper in his hand.

“How old is he now?”

Just thinking about it, he felt a pang on his chest, his heart suddenly beating way too fast, before it finally calmed down.

“It doesn’t matter, he’s already forgotten everything,” he clutched his hands in fists, slowly beginning to draw blood. “There’s no way I’ll ever meet him again, that was probably my imagination. This is just me hoping in vain.”

Curling on the couch, Jeonghan closed his eyes and gripped tightly the piece of paper, pulling it close to his chest, almost near his heart. It was almost as if in this way he could remember the warmth from those days.

_ As expected of summer, the rain had been hitting hard that night. The little boy had wanted to go out with his friends, but due to the weather he wasn’t able to. The entire day had been raining, and it seemed like it would not stop until the next day. _

_ Looking outside, Junhui looked at the raindrops falling on the ground, hitting against the glass on the window. Even though the window was closed, due to the curtain being opened, cold air could still pass through. He had been shivering for quite a while, but still refused to move away from there. It was like he believed that if he stared long enough outside, the rain would magically stop. _

_ Lying lazily on the bed, Jeonghan stared at the child with a raised eyebrow, the long silver brush swinging from side to side, sometimes snickering low enough that Junhui wouldn’t hear him. _

_ “Pfft.” _

_ However, seeing the determined gaze on the child, his eyebrows furrowing and yet also childishly sulking, the demon couldn’t hold back his laughter. _

_ This time hearing the sound of someone laughing behind him, Junhui turned around and glared at the young male, now sitting on the bed with his legs crossed, giving him an amused stare, the corner of his lips pulled upwards, almost mocking. _

_ Sending him the most threatening glare he could muster, Junhui walked towards his bed. But no matter, Jeonghan only chuckled seeing his attempt of a glare, it only made him look cute. _

_ Noticing that his glare hadn’t worked, the kid jumped onto his bed and knelt in front of the beautiful demon, not shying away from looking into those pair of piercing golden eyes like scorching suns. Somehow on the night they always seemed even more bright. _

_ With Junhui kneeling in front of him, who had his legs crossed, there wasn’t much height difference between them. Jeonghan tilted his head, his eyes questioning while still maintaining his smile. _

_ There weren’t any words spoken. _

_ It was already late, sleep was sure to come in a few minutes. Without saying anything, Junhui moved to Jeonghan's side and simply lied down, resting his head against the taller male’s chest. Yes, his body was cold, but he felt safe and calm, as if there wasn’t anything else in the world. _

_ Surprised by his actions, Jeonghan looked down at him with wide eyes. But he soon calmed down, his expression softening as he pulled Junhui closer in his embrace. This warmth, so soothing and safe. How many years has it been since he had felt something like that? _

_ On a rainy night, a boy and a demon sat in a bed, resting against each other with their eyes closed. It didn’t take long for them to fall asleep. _

Waking up the next morning Junhui felt a horrible hangover, and he was sure he could hear Yan An suffering from it too. He smiled childishly, at least he wasn’t the only one in pain.

As he grabbed for his cellphone to check for any missing calls or messages, Junhui felt a piercing throb in his head, much harder than when he woke up.

“Hopefully Yan An has enough to prepare some hangover soup,” he mumbled, massaging his temples to try and soothe the pain momentaneously, at least enough to be able to read his texts.

Whatever he had dreamed of, Junhui had already forgotten about it.

Days later, while helping Wonwoo with taking care of the library, Jeonghan had sensed a familiar presence passing by outside the place. It was only for a second, but something drove him to run towards the source.

Completely ignoring Wonwoo yelling at him from the back, Jeonghan pushed the doors open with both hands and ran out. He knew this presence, this warmth. His mind kept screaming at him it wasn’t real, it wouldn’t be any different from the past years. Yet his heart did nothing but push him forward, hoping against all odds that for once, he would see a slight glimmer of hope, no matter how small it was.

However, life wasn’t how we all wanted it to be.

After turning around a corner, that presence disappeared. Vanished, as if it had never existed.

Golden stones turned into coils, so dark and pitiful, hiding under dozens of layers its beautiful luster. The brain once again won to the heart, laughing full of scorn and mocking.

Why do you keep hoping? You made your choice when you stayed. You made your choice when you saved him. You made your choice when you left.

The sea was dragging him, waves pulling at his body into an ocean of feelings he couldn’t understand. And like a drowning man he was trying to reach the surface for air, to escape the dangers and the suffering.

By the time Jeonghan had gotten back to the library, Wonwoo was waiting for him outside, in front of the doors. He had his usual stern face, yet in those pale blue eyes, like a reflection of his but in different color, there was concern and worry.

Forcing a smile on his face, Jeonghan patted him on the shoulder and shook his head, then pushed the door open and stepped into the library.

“Hyung,” Wonwoo grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped him.

Jeonghan turned to look at him, his gaze questioning.

“What is it that’s making you act like this?” Wonwoo furrowed his eyebrows, “Is it related to that piece of paper you’re always carrying?”

Hearing Wonwoo mentioning the piece of paper, Jeonghan immediately pulled away and turned to look at him. Only then did Wonwoo notice the change in Jeonghan’s eyes.

“It doesn’t matter, it's nothing."

_ I’m just being stupidly hopeful for something impossible. _

Jeonghan shrugged and stepped in, leaving Wonwoo behind standing in the entrance, staring at Jeonghan’s back with a complicated gaze. That wasn’t his hyung, and they all knew it.

“Oh, it seems they still haven’t given up on following me. Although the wolves agreed to help us, it’d be kind of difficult for me to go back home, so I’ll stay here for a while.”

Jeonghan gave Wonwoo one last glance before walking to the furthest back of the library, the place he had been organizing before running out.

Just as he was about to ask Jeonghan more about what he had just said, the sound from the bell on top of the door attracted Wonwoo’s attention. Two young men, one tall and the other much shorter, walked in.

“Ah, you’re here.”

“Hey, we came to help,” Seungcheol responded back first.

“Where’s hyung?” Jihoon looked around the place, not finding a certain silver haired.

“At the very back, accommodating some books… or at least he should be,” Wonwoo frowned.

“I’ll go check on him,” Seungcheol sighed.

Wonwoo stared at Seungcheol’s retreating back, and wondered if he should tell him what had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the short chapter, but on a good note this Arc is short, and maybe there are like two more chapters until we reach the third Arc, which is the good one, to be honest this is kind of a filler, but you'll see why it's necessary  
> Also, next arc will be heavy on the angst, gonna sharpen those knives  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://cygnustrash.tumblr.com) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)
> 
> PS. On Arc III we'll go back to updates every two weeks so I get time to write


	11. Arc II. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeonghan wasn’t even sure if he was making the right decision.

On the back of the library, amongst dozens of stacks of books was a body lying in the middle of them, his eyes closed as if he was in a deep sleep and nothing could wake him up. However, as he stepped closer, Seungcheol realized Jeonghan didn’t seem as calm as when he usually napped. Instead he was frowning, biting his lips until they turned into a bloody red.

Right at the moment Seungcheol was going to try to wake him up, a low, soft voice stopped his movements.

“You damn stupid brat…“

It was only a murmur, spoken so low it wasn't very audible, but Seungcheol could distinguish it from the man lying in the midst of books.

“What the hell is he dreaming about? Who’s he calling a stupid brat?”

Furrowing his eyebrows, Seungcheol thought about it for a bit before deciding to ask him later about it.

Stepping into the stacks of books, Seungcheol crouched down and nudged him a bit.

“Ugh, why…“ Jeonghan muttered, opening his eyes slightly to see who had woken him up, “Oh, it’s just you.”

And then he closed his eyes again and proceeded to continue sleeping.

“Yah! Yoon Jeonghan! What do you mean it’s just me?!” Seungcheol began to nudge him harder, “Wake up and finish accommodating this part!”

“Why? Let me sleep a bit more,” Jeonghan swatted him away and turned around, giving his back to the other male.

“How can you even sleep on top of so many books?” Seungcheol stared at him in disbelief.

“It’s a skill, only few can master it.”

The way Jeonghan said it, with so much confidence and pride, Seungcheol could feel his right eye twitching. He sighed, stood up and gave Jeonghan one last nudge with his feet.

“Jihoon got some new info, come up after you feel better.”

Without saying anything else, Seungcheol left.

Jeonghan smiled helplessly, wondering why was a brat affecting him so much. He had lots of stuff more important to worry about. That was thirteen years ago, he was no longer going to see him, no matter how much Jeonghan wished to. Still, that feeling from before, it had pierced his heart and stayed there no matter how much he wanted to throw it out.

Some days after the first reading of the script, the shooting for the new movie had started and Junhui had become familiar with the crew.

Filming his first scenes of the day wasn't much of an issue, and his interactions with the other actors flowed smoothly.

However, after monitoring the recent scenes with the other actors, although the director was pleased with the result, they still decided to retry some scenes until they felt content with them. So the filming went a bit longer.

Just as he was resting, while checking on his phone, Junhui accidentally bumped into a guy carrying stage props for construction, causing everything to fall.

“Ah! I’m sorry!” Junhui quickly apologized and helped the other pick up the props.

“It’s fine, fortunately I wasn’t carrying anything important,” the guy flashed him a bright smile and walked off, carrying everything with him.

Junhui only looked at the parting back, then turned to look for Minghua.

He found the woman busy with a phone call, so he turned around and started playing on his phone while waiting for her to finish.

While sitting on a chair, with his back towards the door, Junhui felt a shiver run through his spine, but when he turned around, all he found was an empty hallway. He stared for a bit more, but still got nothing, so he just shrugged his shoulders and went back to play on his phone.

Done with her phone call, Minghua went to Junhui and handed him a paper sheet with dates and times. Above it was the title 《In Silence》, one of the films he had worked on during last year.

"These are the dates they've planned to release the teasers, along with the definitive premiere date," Minghua pointed at the numbers in bold.

"Fall of next year?" Junhui scratched his chin, thoughtful.

"Yes, and apparently the other one is planned to release in the summer of next year," she took back the paper Junhui handed her as he stood up, "The next movie still has no definitive date, but apparently the director wants to release in two years, she wants to make sure the film is perfect."

"And after this film I get something new?"

"Nothing for now, but if I get something I'll let you know, after all, it's pretty hard to find a movie that has both yours and the president's requirements," she smirked, clearly teasing.

"Sorry, I didn't expect the president's choices would be so tough," Junhui chuckled, before leaving to continue filming.

Reunited with the actors, the director began to explain the next scenes. Junhui listened intently to her instructions, focusing on understanding her words. He was going to make the best of it filming here, as long as he could understand the language better.

After finishing his final scenes of the day, Junhui went back to rest, waiting for Minghua to call him to leave. However, he was surprised to find on his previous spot the same stage props man he had bumped into earlier, sitting on the ground and drinking a bottle of water.

"Oh, it's you," the guy smiled, moving a bit to the side, "You done with your scenes from today?"

"Yeah, and really sorry for earlier," Junhui scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. 

"No worries," he grinned.

"But yeah, I'm done with them. Fortunately for now I don't have any fight scenes," Junhui sat down, sighing in relief, "I'd heard the choreographer is very strict, and scary, apparently. But apparently she couldn’t come today, and sent someone else to choreograph in her stead. Hopefully they’re not as scary and strict too."

He laughed nervously.

"Ho ho, but I've heard she sent a nice guy, though," the props man commented, chuckling, and passed Junhui the water bottle.

"Thanks," he pushed it back, "I don't know… most choreographers I'd worked with were very strict and many feared them, but you're right, he could be different," Junhui laughed.

"Yeah, I mean, wasn't I nice helping out the guy from the props team by carrying those stuff, and didn't get angry when you bumped into me? Also, I just offered you some water, you looked tired," the guy continued to smile, almost looking like an adorable hamster.

However, Junhui could only look at him with wide eyes. Something cracked behind him.

"Nice to meet you, Moon Junhui, I'm Kwon Soonyoung, the choreographer Naeun noona sent in her stead. I look forward to working with you today," the smile was still there.

_Tiger gaze?_

After helping out Wonwoo in the library, and also taking a nice nap, Jeonghan went out for a walk before getting back to his apartment.

There was still some time until dawn, so he didn’t have to worry as much as usual about a certain group of “people” following him, along with the fact that Mingyu and Myeongho have been keeping them busy for the time being.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks and sighed, scratching the back of his neck. Wonwoo’s words from earlier still rang in his head.

Finally, he changed directions and walked towards a place he hadn’t visited in a year. Jeonghan wasn’t even sure if he was making the right decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter I'm sorry ;A; but don't worry the next one is the last one for this Arc, and then we get The Meeting™  
> Also, quick guide so none of y'all get confused: jeonghan, wonwoo - fox / jisoo - crow / mingyu, minghao - wolf / the rest of the members are humans  
> Hope you enjoyed reading, please leave kudos and comments, they keep me motivated to update and continue writing  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)
> 
> PS. If I'm in the mood I'll probably post the next chapter later on the week, but no promises


	12. Arc II. Chapter Four (End)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Will you go back?"
> 
> "Depends."
> 
> On if he remembers me.

"Tomorrow there are more scenes to be filmed, and then the shooting for the promotional pictures," Minghua commented while she dropped off Junhui, "The photo shoot will be in between the filming. And one of Mainland's magazines will come to interview the crew, since the director is among the most recognized in Asia and Europe."

"Nothing else?" Junhui asked as he looked for his bag and grabbed his phone.

"Nope," Minghua smiled, "You've done well, keeping updating on social media, along with the projects you had previously worked on that were scheduled to be released this year."

It's almost like he had been preparing for this time beforehand.

"I love acting, and have enjoyed it since my first role, even if it wasn't on my original plans. But right now," he looked at a paper's corner peeking out his wallet, "There is something I need to do before moving on."

Minghua turned to look at what he had in his hands, but didn't voice out her opinion, instead keeping silent as she drove the car.

"Will you go back?"

"Depends."

_On if he remembers me._

After dropping off Junhui, Minghua waited until he had entered the building before getting back on the car.

Just as she was about to drive away, by the corner of her eyes she glimpsed a silver haired head walking towards the same building. But the moment she turned around, she found nothing. Maybe it was her imagination… 

Back at Yan An’s apartment Junhui had gone to shower after greeting his friend, who was again busy with his studies, exams were over but more would come later.

The cold water washing over him was enough to wake him from his thoughts. Yet no matter how much he tried to ignore it, he continued to have the same fear, even if he didn’t want to believe so. A part of him, the bigger one, wished that _he_ still remembered him. But a smaller one, the one he tried to not listen to, still made him feel doubtful.

Finished showering, by the time he came out of the bathroom, Yan An was probably tired of just studying and was about to watch a movie. He was procrastinating, to be specific.

“Junhui! Wanna watch this movie too?” Yan An turned to him with a bright expression.

_Ah, it can only be a horror one._

Despite that, Junhui still nodded and went to the bedroom to dress.

Some time later, the two friends were sitting on the couch with a horror movie in front of them, and many different snacks scattered around them. Each had wrapped themselves in a blanket, although Junhui was the one gripping his tightest.

After the movie was over, Junhui still refused to move from the couch, while Yan An started to pick some of his trash.

“Hey, An,” Junhui suddenly spoke up, the other turning to look at him curious, “if you had the opportunity to see someone you’ve missed for many years, but feared they had forgotten about you, would you still go and see them?”

Yan An stared at his friend, confused before he started remembering some of the days from their teenage years. Junhui always looked like he was missing something, or _someone_ , but whenever someone asked him, he would act like nothing and continue being “himself”.

“If I really missed them, then as soon as I could get a hold of them, I’d go see them,” Yan An held his chin thoughtfully, “Who knows when I’ll be able to see them again. And if they forgot about me, then I’ll just create new memories with them.”

Hearing his words, Junhui felt something inside him move and suddenly brighten. His eyes widened as he looked at his lap, sparkles shining inside two deep black oceans.

The lift stopped on the seventh floor, and after taking a deep breath, Jeonghan walked out. Somehow, each step he took sounded louder than the previous one in the empty hallway. He could only straighten himself, and keep walking under the yellow lamps.

Dozens of thoughts flashed through his head, many of them doubts and anxieties that made him hesitate to keep moving. But he still pushed them to the back of his mind.

Until he stood in front of that familiar gray door.

Suddenly all the thoughts he had pushed back, came crashing back like waves in a storm. The hand that was about to knock stopped mid-air, trembling slightly.

An empty-like gaze wavered.

And then the door was slammed opened, revealing a tall man with bright orange hair and sharp long red eyes, who looked like he could be in his mid-thirties. His gaze, though, was warm and yet also strong, giving off a feeling of safety.

A pair of red stones stared at Jeonghan, brows furrowed and thin lips forming into a line.

“Hyung…“

The moment those words left his mouth, the older man’s gaze turned softer, the beauty mark under his left eye increasing his gentle aura.

“I suppose Wonwoo-ah was the one to convince you to come,” the man’s voice was low and gentle, like a warm spring breeze.

“Hyung, I’m sorry for the way I acted the last time, I know you were only trying to protect the clan,” Jeonghan spoke quickly, the dull golden eyes staring up at him, “But I need your help.”

The man arched an eyebrow.

“I need you to make me forget something,” he paused for a second and looked down, “Something from thirteen years ago.”

The man’s eyes narrowed, clearly still remembering what had happened many years ago.

After thinking about it for a few seconds, and seeing Jeonghan’s eyes —so dull, not like they used to be— he sighed and nodded, moving aside to let the other step inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have quickly reached the end of this arc~ but don't worry next Monday we'll start the new one! I have like nearly 40k words written in total, but to avoid possibilities of hiatus I'll be back to updating every two weeks, just to give me time to write and not burn out  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)  
> PS. when I said slow burn and fluff and angst, I meant it, but don't worry, the meeting is happening next chapter, so sorry for keeping you waiting


	13. Arc III. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One year later...

Walking on the warm streets of Seoul, Junhui was still thinking about President Zhao’s words. Go back to China and continue acting there, where he had full support from the company, or stay and work in Korea, but it would be harder to get resources and support. Even if Zhao had lots of contacts here, it wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

But Junhui couldn’t bear to leave Korea yet, not until he could find  _ him _ .

After he finished working on last year’s movie, Junhui began to search once again, yet the people that Minghua had sent could no longer find any traces of him. It was as if he had vanished.

Junhui remembered the time he had come back to his room in his grandparents’ house, only to find it empty. That time, too, it seemed like the fox demon he had once met had suddenly vanished into thin air.

The summer breeze brushed past him, ruffling his dark hair while leaving some green leaves it had taken with it on him. Feeling a leaf falling on his nose, Junhui took it off and looked at it, before dropping it.

Just as Junhui was about to continue walking, a hand reaching for a leaf floating in front of his face stopped him. Junhui was ready to move away, but with just a glance of the owner of the hand he halted in his steps. He was surprised to see a man seemingly in his thirties, with bright orange hair and sharp reddish brown eyes, a beauty mark right under his left eye; the long brown coat and straight black pants only accentuated his tall height, even a bit taller than Junhui.

“Isn’t this a nice summer?” The man looked at the leaf in his hand and smiled gently. “Perfect to bring back old memories.”

“Uhm… what?” Junhui looked at him confused, a bad feeling growing in the back of his mind by those words.

“Oh, nothing. Just speaking out loud,” the man chuckled, kind of embarrassed, “Sorry.”

The man let go of the leaf, flying towards Junhui’s hand, bowed his head a bit, and then turned to walk away.

Yet for less than a second, in a glimpse, the man’s reddish brown eyes turned scarlet red before he turned around.

Junhui thought it had only been his imagination. He then looked at the leaf in his hand, and let it fly off with the wind.

Walking back to the apartment, Junhui passed by a playground, and just happened to glance at it when he saw a very familiar silver haired head passing through and running towards the park.

Even in the darkness of the night, Junhui could still somehow recognize him. The silver hair (now shorter), the lean yet firm figure. All of it, Junhui still remembered. And seeing him again in person, even if it was from a far distance, he couldn’t help but freeze where he stood.

However, a group of silhouettes passing through, following the other’s path, quickly brought him back from his shock.

_ Was he running away? _

Sensing a bad premonition at the back of his mind, Junhui quickly ran towards the same direction.

They had taken him by surprise, right when he had let down his guard. He was too busy protecting Chan and Jihoon, he didn’t even get the chance to attack back or even defend himself. Fortunately Jisoo had been able to protect Seungcheol, or else Jeonghan didn’t know how he would have reacted if he had lost another friend, another person close to him. So in the end all he could do was run away, not caring about his injuries as long as he could get  _ them _ away from his friends.

However, the attack they launched was stronger than he would have ever expected, and since he couldn’t avoid it or protect himself, Jeonghan had received the entire damage of it. Only because his strength was bigger compared to theirs, he had been able to hold on until now. But his stamina was weakening quickly, and sooner or later he wouldn’t be able to maintain his human form. He couldn’t afford to be discovered just because of them.

Not only that, they had also drained his force, so he couldn’t fight them back head on like he usually did.

It was frustrating, that all he could do was run away.

The summer night breeze brushed past his hair, revealing a pair of shiny golden eyes with vermillion shadow marks below. Sensing danger behind him, his eyes narrowed as the pupils sharpened.

In a swift movement, he jumped to the right, avoiding a sharp blade as dark as the night that had merely grazed against his sleeve.

While the blade ended up embedded on the trunk of a tree, his feet steadily landed on a high branch.

Using the leaves to hide himself, Jeonghan sat down and saw the group of attackers passing right below him. Holding his breath and hiding his presence, with an anxious beating heart, he waited for them to go away.

They only circled the area for a few minutes before finally leaving.

Letting out a sigh, Jeonghan suddenly flinched, gripping his chest with force, and bit his lips, drawing blood. The previous pale lips had stained into a crimson red. Furrowing his eyebrows he looked down at himself, and let out a soft humorless chuckle.

The blood staining the clothes hadn’t stopped. He didn’t know how many injuries he had, but they were definitely a lot. Yet with his force weakened, he didn’t have enough energy to stop the bleeding.

Closing his eyes, Jeoghan leaned back against nothing and let himself fall down.

“Yoon Jeonghan!”

In amidst his fading conscience, Jeonghan heard someone yell his name. The voice is so strangely familiar and foreign at the same time. Yet in his haze, he couldn’t really think much about it.

Last thing he felt was landing on a pair of strong arms, and an oddly familiar warmth.

He didn’t even notice the silver necklace hanging from the branch he had been on, the previous shiny red pendant losing its shimmer.

He had waited until that weird group of people had left, before finally running towards the tree he had seen the other jump to. However, just as Junhui was closing in, against the light of the moon he saw a silhouette falling from a high branch.

With a sudden rush of adrenaline, he ran to him, barely making it in time to catch Jeonghan in his arms. But he couldn't even feel relieved, seeing all the blood staining the clothes that had been turned into rags, along with the scratches and cuts on his face and arms.

After balancing himself, Junhui stood up and pressed the other closer to his chest, before finally running off to the apartment. Fortunately he wasn't that far from there.

But the light weight in his arms, Junhui frowned and hurried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't hit me (*ﾟ∀ﾟ) There will be sweet moments, I swear  
> And we're back on updates every two weeks, sorry but I really don't wanna get burn out by squeezing as many chapters as possible, especially now that I'm working on editing this arc, because there are some parts I no longer like and will try to fix as fast as possible _(:3」∠)_  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)
> 
> PS. On a previous chapter I said it was a drama, but it was a movie, thought I had changed all the mentions of the drama, sorry for any confusion


	14. Arc III. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why did you save me and why do you know my name?” Jeonghan stood up, resisting the pain his entire body was crying about. Now was not the time to show weaknesses, or at least not any more.

When he got to the apartment, Junhui couldn’t take out his keys, so he didn’t have any other choice than to knock on the door. Hopefully Yan An would already be back.

It only took about a couple minutes before the door was opened, Yan An appeared already in pajamas, probably he was preparing to go to sleep. Just as he was about to ask Junhui why he didn’t use his keys, the words got stuck in his throat as he took the sight in front of him, his eyes widening.

“What theー

“Quickly go grab the first aid kit,” Junhui spoke fast, his words almost slurring together.

About to question him more, seeing Junhui’s pleading eyes, Yan An turned around and let him in, while he went for the kit.

Still not feeling relieved, Junhui hurried to his room and looked down once more at Jeonghan in his arms. His skin had turned way too pale, and although the bleeding seemed to have slown, it still didn’t completely stop. Junhui knew the most rational thing to do would be to take Jeonghan to a hospital, yet knowing what he really was, Junhui wasn’t sure it would be a good idea. And so he had no choice but to deal with it by himself. Just like he did all those years ago when he first found him.

After what felt like forever, even though it was at least three minutes, Yan An had come back with the first aid kit.

“Bring me some wet towels,” Junhui put him down on the bed, took the kit and opened it.

Yan An took a look at the unconscious male, then went to search for some clean towels —they should have at least one clean towel.

Opening Jeonghan’s shirt, Junhui felt his heart fall to the bottom of his stomach. If the scratches and cuts on the face and arms were already worrisome, the amount of wounds scattered across his torso was horrifying to say the least. And those were the ones the blood hadn’t covered.

When Yan An came back, he almost dropped the towel, gasping.

“Do I want you to explain why you brought a nearly dying stranger here?” Yan An handed him the towel and a recipient with water.

“Thanks,” Junhui grabbed both and began cleaning the blood, “And he’s not a stranger, I know him.”

_ I’ve been looking for him, but I didn’t want to find him like this. Not again. _

Yan An glanced at him, skeptical, but still said nothing and just stood beside him, passing him anything Junhui needed from the first aid kit.

At the end it had taken them nearly an hour to treat Jeonghan, finishing wrapping the bandages. Yan An had gone back to his room to finally sleep since he had classes early, while Junhui went to the kitchen to cook something for when Jeonghan woke up.

The sound of metal clinking against each other and water running down seemed so loud in the dark empty silent living room with Junhui alone in the small kitchen, washing the pots and pans he had used. He couldn’t help but glance back to the room where Jeonghan was sleeping every once in a while, dozens of questions flying through his mind, and yet he didn’t know if he should even ask them. Would Jeonghan answer him or just avoid them?

Suddenly, an even greater question appeared in his head. His hands stopped washing the pan, The one question he had feared the most:

_ Does he even remember me? _

Even if Junhui had told Yan An he knew Jeonghan, who knows if the other would recognize him, least of all still remember him. Fourteen years had passed, after all.

“And if he forgot… can I still make him remember?”

It was whispered under his breath, but in the empty kitchen, it sounded much louder. Like a warning, preparing him for what was yet to come.

By the time he had finished washing everything, and put the food into the microwave to keep it warm, Junhui went to his own room to search for a blanket. As he looked at the young man lying on the bed, Junhui was surprised to find the fox ears and tail had appeared. Before he had only seen the red marks, but with all the blood stains on his face they hadn’t been as obvious.

For a second Junhui felt he had gone back fourteen years. Jeonghan hadn’t changed at all. But Junhui did, he grew up, he was no longer the child that had saved the fox demon years ago. And yet, no matter how much time passed, Junhui could never forget about him.

After covering him with a blanket, Junhui grabbed one for his own and left for the living room.

It was past three in the afternoon when Jeonghan finally started to regain consciousness. His body felt like it had been squashed by tons of rocks and then run over by a train (at least on the first one he could tell from experience). Just with moving slightly he could feel his body screaming at him, hissing the moment he tried to sit up. He immediately lied back down to wait for the pain to pass and closed his eyes.

In less than a second he opened them again and quickly sat up. Holding his abdomen while trying to keep quiet his groans, Jeonghan looked down at the bed and then at the room he was in. This wasn’t somewhere he knew. Besides, it looked too empty, except for a single closet, an empty desk, some bags and a carrier on one corner of the room. The clothes on the floor indicated that someone was living and sleeping here. It was also very small, the single bed already occupied a lot of space, not to mention that desk, the distance between former and the desk chair was nearly nonexistent. 

“Who…?“

He tried to go investigate, but as soon as he stood up, his entire body went weak and tripped down, only managing to hold by grabbing onto the bed.

However, it seemed he had been too loud just now, as hurried steps came close and the door was suddenly slammed open.

“Jeonghan!”

Jeonghan looked up and met face to face with a very handsome young man, probably still in his early twenties. His dark hair disheveled and very obvious dark circles under deep black phoenix eyes; Jeonghan could quickly tell this person hadn’t slept very well, some guilt surged inside him.

But hearing that guy calling his name, it reminded him of last night. Just before falling unconscious he had heard someone yelling his name. The same voice…

“Why did you save me and why do you know my name?” Jeonghan stood up, resisting the pain his entire body was crying about. Now was not the time to show weaknesses, or at least not any more.

“Umm…“

The guy looked at him frowning, his eyes wavering and his hands wiping against his pajama pants —oh, black cats, that’s cute. He glanced behind him, almost as if avoiding Jeonghan’s cold golden eyes.

“I…“

“Hey, Jun-ah, do you want to order take out or are we cooking something?”

A new voice came from behind the guy apparently named Jun.

Jun’s eyes opened wide, an anxious expression appearing on his face as he stared at Jeonghan and then glanced back at where the other voice was coming from.

At first Jeonghan was confused by his reaction, until he noticed the other guy kept staring at the top of his head. Slowly reaching upwards, Jeonghan felt the furry ears twitching, his face growing paler, and realization finally hit him. The look in his eyes went from anxiety to instinctive defense.

“Order take out,” Jun responded quickly.

The closing steps suddenly stopped and then went away. Jun sighed in relief as he turned back towards Jeonghan, his eyebrows furrowing. He almost seemed worried.

“Is your strength still not fully back?” Jun suddenly asked, his voice softening.

“No…“ Jeonghan continued to eye him full of suspicion, “Why do you know my name, and why aren’t you surprised seeing my real form?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we've finally reached this moment ah, thanks for staying to this point, and hopefully you'll stay longer, because the angst train is coming hahahaha there'll be nice moments too, don't worry about it  
> thanks for reading, if you enjoyed please leave comments and kudos, also stay safe y'all
> 
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


	15. Arc III. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeonghan moved closer to Jun’s face, his lips partly opened, allowing the other to see two rows of very sharp teeth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is 100% un-edited, so there may be inconsistencies or mistakes

It was obvious that Jeonghan wouldn’t recognize him after all these years, Junhui told himself in an attempt of self reassurance. Yet a growing fear from the back of his mind started to surge, sirens screaming inside his head in a failed attempt of warning him.

Junhui remained silent, thinking over his words once, twice, and thrice; before finally taking a deep breath and staring directly at a pair of sun like gems.

“Do you remember ever staying in a small town in China?”

Jeonghan tilted his head, thinking it over for a while before nodding. Junhui could hear bells ringing behind him, a bright smile threatening to appear on his face, he could only hold back by mere willforce.

“I stayed for a few months in an abandoned storehouse, until a friend came to pick me up a few months later. I didn’t do much there, though, it was just me. Why?”

Loud cracking noises. All hopes crashing down to the bottom of his stomach. Junhui could only stare blankly at the young man in front of him, so familiar and still the same as he remembered. Except for those eyes, so cold and reserved, seeing him as no more than a stranger. Not even when he was a child, had Junhui ever seen that look of Jeonghan directed at him.

His greatest fear. The thing he had feared the most.

It actually happened.

_ Then what… What is the point of staying here? _

As soon as that thought appeared, he quickly shook it off and threw it far away from his mind.

No. Even if he had feared that outcome for so long, Junhui still wouldn’t give up.

So what if Jeonghan had forgotten about him? He could either make new memories with him, or help him remember.

“I saw you yesterday night, and heard one of the guys following you calling you that, I thought it was your name,” he quickly came up with a lie that wouldn’t make the other so suspicious of him.

"Why did you help me, then?"

"You were gravely injured, and from what I could see you were, I thought it wouldn't be a good idea taking you to the hospital," Junhui looked carefully at his eyes, hoping the other would believe him.

"What about the other one?" Jeonghan signaled behind him, eyes narrowed.

"He doesn't know… do you want him to know?"

"Of course not!" Jeonghan widened both eyes.

"Then he won't know," Junhui spoke slowly, trying to calm him down, while closing the door behind him.

Realizing he had overreacted, Jeonghan turned his head down.

A heavy silence fell upon them, with only the sound of Yan An speaking on the phone from outside the room.

Suddenly Jeonghan looked up at Junhui, frowning.

"Aren't you afraid I may eat you to recover my strength?"

He must have definitely thought Junhui was crazy for treating him so well, even bringing him here and taking care of his injuries. It was the same as back then.

"No, I know you won't hurt me."

Junhui didn't know where that confidence was coming from. Clearly Jeonghan didn't remember him, and he could still hurt him. He felt a bit foolish, but for now he decided to follow that foolish decision.

In a speed that the human eye couldn’t see, Jeonghan had stood up and pinned Jun against the door, a red glint contrasting in his golden eyes. With one hand holding the guy by the arm while his right hand held a tight grip on his neck, Jeonghan moved closer to Jun’s face, his lips partly opened, allowing the other to see two rows of very sharp teeth.

“How can you be so sure?”

His voice was low, almost a whisper.

Under his touch, Jeonghan could feel the other slightly trembling. A smirk drew on his face, a dangerous glint appearing on his eyes.

However, just as he was going to move closer, ready to feed himself, something stopped him. This odd familiar smell, like a summery breeze from long ago. Then a strange presence coming from the guy in front of him, warm and safe.

His heartbeat began to speed, his mind started to ache and become fuzzy. While the grip on Jun’s neck weakened, the one on his arm only turned stronger.

Pushing himself away with one hand, Jeonghan realized for some reason he didn’t want to let go from that arm.

Closing his eyes, unbearable pain rushed into his head in strong waves, drowning him in it, only intensifying whenever he tried to pull away from that guy. Forget about the pain from his injuries, which he had been trying to ignore this entire time, Jeonghan could hear his mind screeching, running away from whatever was hurting him. Like an incoming flood, he could hear something moving closer, threatening. And yet, all he wanted was to get away from that and just temporarily close the door.

The warmth from a hand on his shoulder, and a voice calling his name, softly and worried.

“Jeonghan… Jeonghan… Jeonghan…“

Again and again, but no matter, the headache hadn’t diminished. Hundreds of needles were plunging in his head, torturing him. Everything was fuzzy.

The voice had stopped for a second, and then:

_ “Little Han!” _

It disappeared. The pain. The flood. The needles. Completely stopped.

Two weirdly familiar, and yet also foreign, words. Jeonghan felt like he had once heard them, but no matter how hard he tried to remember, nothing came up.

Nothing, but a vague whisper of an unknown childish voice speaking those same words.

Finally opening his eyes, Jeonghan stared at the young man standing in front of him. The familiar smell, the presence, were all coming from this person. It no longer affected him. He could still feel the back of his mind yelling at him something, except he couldn’t figure out what it was about.

Holding Jeonghan with one hand, while still not removing the hand gripping his arm, Junhui helped him sit on the bed. He resisted the pain from the sharp fingernails digging into his skin.

“What did you just call me?” Jeonghan asked softly, an almost inaudible whisper. He hadn’t looked up, his head hung low, gaze on the floor lost.

Junhui stared at him, for a second a little hope had started to surge in his heart.

“That was Chinese, right?” Jeonghan looked up at him, “What does it mean?”

“Little Han. That’s how I used to call a friend from my childhood,” Junhui replied, the little hope he had gotten, immediately vanished. “I’m sorry.”

“Huh? Why are you apologizing?”

“You’re probably older than me,” he most definitely was, “and we don’t even know each other.”

Junhui ignored the pang in his chest as he spoke those words. 

“It must have been disrespectful.”

“It wasn’t so bad,” Jeonghan glanced sideways, “It’s kinda cute, calling your close friends ‘little’.”

Then he looked down again.

“But it is weird calling a stranger that way.”

Just as Junhui was about to say something else, a knock on the door halted his words.

“I’ve ordered chicken, is your friend already awake?”

Yan An’s voice came from the other side of the door.

“Uh, yeah, he is,” Junhui turned to the door, “I’m just checking on his wounds.”

“Oh, okay, I’ll call you when the food is here. Tell your friend I’ve also ordered one for him.”

As the steps got further, Junhui turned back to Jeonghan, who had been staring at him the entire time and simply arched an eyebrow, amused.

“Friend?”

“I told him I knew you so he’d let you stay,” Junhui quickly explained. Although it still hurt him hearing the word ‘stranger’ from him earlier.

“So even your friend is more careful than you,” Jeonghan snickered.

Junhui chuckled, glancing to the other side, a glimpse of hurt appearing in his eyes for less than a second. He wanted so badly to tell him the truth, but the fear of Jeonghan not believing him, stopped him from doing so. After many years they finally met, but it felt like there was a glass wall separating them. He could only see from so far.

“Then, if we’re ‘friends’, shouldn’t you tell me your name? At least to know who helped me. Pretty sure it’s not just ‘Jun’,” Jeonghan gave him an amused smile.

“Moon Junhui,” he replied without hesitation.

As soon as the name was spoken, Jeonghan felt something tugging at his heart strings, but he couldn’t decipher what it was. It was his first time hearing that name, and yet it sounded weirdly similar to something he had heard before. For now all he could do was put it in the back of his mind, and think about it later.

“Well, Moon Junhui-ssi, thank you for your hospitality and helping me, but unless you want to risk your life for a stranger, it’s no good for me to stay here.”

As he was about to stand up, Jeonghan finally realized this entire time he had been gripping on Junhui’s arm, his nails digging into his skin, even drawing blood. As if scalded by the touch, he quickly let go, his whole face flushed in embarrassment.

“Why didn’t you pull away?!” Jeonghan stared alarmed at the nail marks on Junhui’s arm, too distracted to notice the bandaid on one of the young man’s fingers.

“It didn’t hurt,” Junhui eyed the small cuts on his own arm, and then Jeonghan’s bandaged arms, “It’s nothing.”

“You-

“And you’re still injured,” Junhui interrupted him, poking at his shoulder, provoking a hiss from Jeonghan. “You still haven’t recovered your energy, at least stay and eat something, it’ll help you.”

Smiling warmly, Junhui turned around and headed towards the door.

“Aren’t you being way too nice to me?” Jeonghan stared at his back with a mischievous grin. “Are you sure I won’t eat you?”

Junhui stopped in his steps, then turned around and smiled, teasing.

“You wouldn’t even eat a child if it was served to you. Try to rest up a bit, I’ll bring you something to eat and then change your bandages,” he spoke before turning back around and leaving the room.

Left speechless, Jeonghan could only let out a chuckle.

“So naive,” he murmured under his breath, “What a foolish human.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for late update, been grinding on gbf plus also stayed entire past week playing ff7r, so completely forgot about editing. On a good side note, we got some small junhan moments, and jeonghan still kinds of remember junhui, memories can be erased but not feelings hoho  
> So... *drops [this](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs/status/1252806547719073802?s=20) and goes back to grinding on gbf and blst*
> 
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


	16. Arc III. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What even is the reason for me to stay here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve given up, this is 100% unedited and unrevised, you get the raw version that came from my head at probably 4am I can no longer remember

Walking directly to the kitchen, Junhui grabbed the food he had prepared the night before, took off the plastic wrapper then put it back in the microwave to heat. Fortunately it was still warm during the night, so it didn’t get very cold, with a few seconds were enough to heat it.

His mind was filled with many thoughts, all of them disorderly running amok as he tried to figure out what to do next. The suggestion Zhao had given him, the call he had received from his younger brother a week ago, and the words Minghua had told him after finishing filming Branch Road. Everything was signaling him to go back home, and yet Junhui felt he needed to stay longer, or else he would lose his last chance. Fourteen years until he finally got an opportunity, but it seemed to have slipped from his fingers without him even realizing it.

After the food finished heating up, Junhui took it out the microwave. For a moment his previous thoughts halted, rather focused on taking the food to Jeonghan, and the bandages he would need to go get after.

Just as Junhui was about to walk towards the room, the sound of his phone ringing stopped him. He put down the tray on top of the microwave and went to answer the call.

While Junhui walked towards his phone, Yan An walked into the kitchen and was surprised to find a tray with light food: plain broth, cooked fish and some vegetables on the side, along with some rice and a glass of water.

“What’s this for?” Yan An turned at him and pointed at the tray.

“Oh, that’s for Jeonghan. I’ll take it to him in a bit,” he quickly said before picking up the call.

“Then he won’t have chicken with us?” Yan An looked at the food and then at the door where Jeonghan was staying. “Maybe because he’s injured.”

Focused on his call with President Zhao, Junhui didn’t notice Yan An grabbing the food tray and walking towards the room Jeonghan was staying in. Zhao kept insisting on making a decision faster, which was understandable, considering the schedule the older man had probably already prepared for him. And it wasn’t like this was supposed to be a difficult choice, after all, Junhui had enjoyed all these years acting, even if he had gotten into it by accident. It became something he liked, where he could put lots of effort into.

But now…

He knew it was ridiculous to be hesitating so much, even President Zhao and Lao Lu thought so, and that’s why they kept asking him to finally make a choice. They had seen him grow, especially Lao Lu, from his first role as a small character, to recent years where he could get the lead role. The two men knew Junhui still had great potential as an actor, and kept pushing him forward. And Junhui was more than grateful for their efforts and countless support. However, now more than ever, he was confused.

When he was a child, Junhui enjoyed going to martial arts lessons, but didn’t actually intend on becoming a martial artist. And then because of it, by mere coincidence accident, he got his first acting role. At the time Junhui saw it as something new and interesting to try, he never expected it would take ten years of his life, and he would actually enjoy it during all these years.

But that wasn’t all he had enjoyed. There was one more thing.

Just as he was attempting to convince President Zhao to give him a bit more time, while he tried to figure out what he really wanted, a terrified scream caught him by surprise. Turning towards the source of it, Junhui’s eyes widened at seeing the door of his room opened, along with the realization that scream had come from Yan An.

Immediately hanging up on President Zhao, promising to give him an answer later, Junhui ran to his room, hoping Jeonghan hadn’t used too much strength to either hide himself or attack Yan An, and that his friend was okay.

Running into the room, Junhui was relieved to find Jeonghan still in the bed, although he had backed all the way to the head board, enveloping himself with the blankets to hide his ears and brush. However, from the defensive position he had taken, along with the extremely hostile expression Jeonghan was giving Yan An, Junhui could pretty much figure out his friend had seen Jeonghan’s true appearance.

On the other side of the room stood Yan An, with the tray of food still in his hands, gripped tightly. His eyes were wide, and his face had gone completely pale, as if he had seen a ghost, except he had actually seen a demon.

Stuck in the middle, Junhui wasn’t sure whom he should check first.

“Kill him,” a cold low voice spoke behind him.

Both Junhui and Yan An turned to look at Jeonghan, their eyes opened wide in horror, especially Yan An, who had just become paler, a shiver running through his back. Even Junhui hadn’t expected Jeonghan to react to that extreme.

“No killing!” Junhui exclaimed, extending both arms with palms open, in a naive attempt to stop Jeonghan from actually doing so.

“He knows!” Jeonghan pointed at Yan An, who had put down the tray of food and then tried to run away, but stopped in his tracks at Jeonghan’s cold murderous gaze.

“I also know, will you kill me too?” Junhui looked at Jeonghan, black eyes softening.

“No! You-

Jeonghan looked back at him, golden eyes wavering as he started to hesitate on his next words. Junhui kept staring at him, his gaze a clear contrast from Jeonghan’s.

“It’s different,” he faced the other side, for some unknown reason unable to bear the other’s soft eyes.

“Why?” Junhui tilted his head, curious as to why Jeonghan thought that way.

“I don’t know,” Jeonghan then turned towards Yan An, “How can you assure me he won’t speak?”

“I won’t!” Yan An suddenly exclaimed and put his hands together, “I promise I won’t tell anyone!”

Seeing Jeonghan narrowing his eyes in distrust, Junhui stood in front of his friend and stared directly at the pair of cold golden eyes.

“Trust him, Yanan’s a good guy, he really won’t tell.”

Finding Junhui’s pleading eyes kind of adorable, Jeonghan couldn’t help but blush and turn away, before finally nodding. As he glanced back at Junhui, the first thing he caught was the other smiling brightly, his black eyes seeming to sparkle with dozens of stars. Some foggy image appeared in his mind, and in less than a second disappeared.

Getting back to the living room after Junhui had changed Jeonghan’s bandages, Yan An was about ready to start asking Junhui about everything that had happened, when the doorbell ringing stopped him. Junhui avoided the look Yan An was giving him and went to open the door.

At first both guys had expected it to be the chicken being delivered, however they were both surprised when they found Soonyoung standing outside the apartment with a huge grin on his face. Immediately Junhui sensed something bad was about to happen, he just knew it whenever the other had that smug expression.

“Jun-ah, remember how you told me last time if there was a chance, you’d like to try another few dance lessons at the studio?” Soonyoung spoke in an almost singing voice, his eyes sparkling as he looked up at Junhui.

Yan An stood on the back, sometimes gazing at the closed door where Jeonghan was staying in and then back at the man who had just arrived, and he decided that Soonyoung was no longer the weirdest friend Junhui had made since he got to Seoul. At least Soonyoung never threatened to kill him and looked like he would actually do it.

“Yeah, I wanted to give it a try again,” Junhui nodded, moving aside to let Soonyoung in.

“Excuse me,” he closed the door behind him.

“Why?” Junhui tilted his head.

“Well,” he smiled even wider, “now you have the chance!” Soonyoung exclaimed, arms opened wide to add dramatic effect.

“Huh? Why so sudden?”

“Jihoon, a friend who sometimes helps me out in the studio, ended up ditching me,” he dropped his head sulking. “Although he didn’t give me a reason it seemed like a really urgent matter, so I didn’t hold him back. But now I don’t have a partner for tomorrow’s lessons, and it’s gonna be a class for kids. I know you’re good with kids, Jun, you have a little brother, you’re my only hope.”

Soonyoung looked up at him, hopeful and almost begging him with his eyes. There was no way Junhui couldn’t say no, he was already preparing to say yes even before Soonyoung said those ridiculous things about being his only hope. So now he couldn’t even think about telling him no.

“Fine,” Junhui nodded chuckling, a slight smile on his face as he thought about dancing again.

“Oh thank goodness, thank you so much, you’re the best Jun,” Soonyoung hugged Junhui as if he had just saved his life, and Junhui couldn’t help but laugh at his friend’s reaction.

While the three of them were chatting, the doorbell ringing took them by surprise, making Soonyoung jump startled. Junhui was on the side laughing while Yan An stood up to go open the door.

This time it was the chicken he had ordered. Earlier he had thought that the third order would go to waste since Jeonghan wouldn’t be eating with them, but since Soonyoung had come then at least Yan An hadn’t spent a bit more for nothing.

Staying in the room alone, Jeonghan stared at the tray of food that had been left on the edge of the bed. Somehow seeing the cooked fish he felt somehow amused, feeling like he had experienced something similar in the past, a little hand handing him a mauled fish, except he couldn’t quite recall anything else, it was still too blurry.

Holding his temple with one hand, he stared at the closed door with narrowed eyes. There was a new presence inside the apartment.

If he wanted to, Jeonghan could hear what they were talking about, but his head kept hurting, a high pitch ringing inside his ears, not allowing him to fully concentrate on what was going on outside. He cursed himself, pressing harder on his temples to make it stop.

“What even is the reason for me to stay here?”

Muttering to himself, he picked up the spoon and took a taste of the broth, finding it surprisingly good. At least it didn’t taste as plain as it looked, and it had a soft sweet taste on the touch of his tongue, but he couldn’t quite tell what it was. And to his surprise, he did feel a bit of his strength coming back.

After finishing eating the rice and vegetables on the side, Jeonghan left everything back on the tray and put it on the desk beside the bed. He felt a bit better compared to the day before, which surprised him considering he tended to heal slowly and it usually took him long to recover strength.

He tried to stand up once again, and fortunately this time he didn’t feel like falling, even though he had to hold back a gasp of pain from the injuries that still had yet to heal. He still couldn’t hide his ears or tail, but as he looked at himself in the full body mirror on the other side of the room, at least the red marks of his face were gone.

The previous feeling of odd familiarity with Junhui was still on his mind, as there was a weird sense of safety and warmth inside this room. His presence still lingering here was too stuffy for Jeonghan, making his mind a blur of things. There was everything and nothing at the same time.

Every time he closed his eyes he could see a blurry like distant image, but he could make nothing of it.

More than relaxing, it was taxing staying in this room.

With heavy steps, every one slower than the previous, while hugging his abdomen in pain and holding himself with the wall with the other hand, he dragged his feet towards the window. Pushing the curtain to the side, he was finally able to see where he was.

The sun was already setting down, painting the sky into a mix of reds and oranges. An emptiness began to surge, along with the sense of missing something, just like every time he looked at the sunset.

For a moment a pair of golden eyes had turned into a reflection of the red sky.

On a rundown factory near the outskirts of the city, loud yells could be heard mixed with the sound of flesh being beaten and slashed. The adrenaline induced excitement was felt all around the place, and the resentment was thus affected by it, giving the place a heavy feeling.

Green and yellow eyes stared with delight at the two bodies fighting in the middle of the large room, illuminated by several lights hanging from the ceiling. It was no different from an underground fighting ring.

From above, vibrant yellow eyes gazed upon the fight and everyone around it, a smirk drawing on a handsome sharp face. White slender fingers held a wine glass, the long green fingernails contrasting against the dark blue liquid, and every once in a while pushed the glass to green tinted thin lips, taking a sip from it.

The heavy sound of the back metal door scratching against the floor while being pushed open didn’t distract his eyes from the fight, but still with a slight hum acknowledged the presence of the other person.

“They can’t find him anywhere,” a low monotone voice spoke from behind. “However, they claim the injuries won’t heal easily, so he’s as good as dead.” A pause. “Their words, not mine.”

“They said the same thing fourteen years ago on this same ring, and yet,” he said, “in two months he came back completely fine, as if he hadn’t been on the verge of dying right in front of me.”

“Will you do something, Yuwon?”

“If they say he’s gone missing again,” he said, “then I can only make him come out from his hideout.”

He turned around to look at the other man with a sadistic grin, bloodlust clear in his eyes, the scales on his cheeks to the neck reflecting against the lamps' light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very late update, and ngl I haven’t even kept working on this, rather on a fic for my very niche otp on another fandom just to indulge myself  
> Right now it’s been a difficult time irl for me, and while I do plan on continuing working on this idk how long updates may take at some point, but will try to keep some consistency  
> Hope you enjoyed, please leave kudos and comments  
> Stay safe and be nice!
> 
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


	17. Arc III. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not edited!
> 
> Also happy 5th Anniversary Seventeen!!

After agreeing on helping Soonyoung with the studio, the three guys sat on the couch to watch TV while eating their fried chicken. However, every once in a while Junhui would turn to look at the door of his room, brows furrowed in worry.

Every now and then, Junhui would yawn, yet he still remained awake, turning to the closed door every ten minutes. And he wasn’t even being subtle. Yan An could only sigh on the inside, almost wanting to face palm at his friend’s obvious actions. They both knew telling Soonyoung wasn’t an option, the guy didn’t know how to keep secrets, least of all when it came about some demon’s real identity. But the way Junhui was acting, constantly looking at his door, it wouldn’t be surprising if Soonyoung became suspicious of them hiding something, after all, the guy was quite sharper than he looked.

“Jun-ah,” Soonyoung called out to him while on a commercial, the other immediately turning to look at him with wide eyes, making more obvious the eye bags under his eyes, “have you been getting enough sleep recently?”

Junhui quickly changed his expression to that of a kid who had been caught in the middle of a prank. Yan An internally facepalmed, realizing the other had just given them away.

“Oh, umm,” Junhui looked down at his hands, fidgeting, trying to figure out away to hide the fact they had been hiding a complete stranger (a demon, to be more specific) inside the apartment.

He hadn’t been able to sleep on the couch, not because it was uncomfortable, but he just couldn’t stop worrying about Jeonghan and how he had gotten those wounds. He kept having nightmares of the other being in the middle of a forest, severely injured and on the verge of collapsing. It had been years since Junhui had dreamt of the other in a scenario like that.

And then he remembered his previous call with Zhao.

“I’ve just been busy with some company matters, but it’s fine,” Junhui waved his hand, in an attempt to distract Soonyoung from his previous actions. Only now he realized how obvious he was being by constantly checking the door of his room.

“Oh, how much longer are you staying here?” Soonyoung crossed his legs and completely focused his attention on him.

“There are still some movies to be released, so Minghua noona recommended me to stay for a bit longer,” Junhui said without missing a beat, even though on the inside he was only getting more anxious regarding that matter.

“Oh right! That one I helped to choreograph for still isn’t out,” Soonyoung scratched his chin in thought. “Then I better keep you in the studio in the meantime!”

“Oh! That’d be a great way to spend the time!” Junhui quickly agreed, completely forgetting his previous thoughts.

Somehow, the thought of going back to dancing like he used to long ago, made him remember the days before he got into acting.

The warmth from the summer sun was almost tiring, with a heavy brilliance and the uncomfortable sweaty feeling. And then with the sun about to set down, although the hot weather was still present, there was a bit of a breeze. However, the entire time they spent running all around the city under the scorching sun had tired them out, sweat running down their foreheads.

There wasn’t much else they could do on their own, and more than once they had considered asking for help from the others. But they knew it would only bring more trouble to them, especially once they had to explain the entire situation.

Stopping in front of the bookstore, Wonwoo and Jisoo sent back the other three to their homes. Although the harder to convince was Chan, who wanted to keep searching with them, between Seungcheol and Jihoon they managed to do so. And so, only Wonwoo and Jisoo were left.

Entering the bookstore, Wonwoo had immediately put on the lock to avoid any peeving ears from hearing. They walked up to the very back of the store, where the older books were being kept in tall bookshelves, along with a wooden table on the side of the wall and an oil lamp on top of it, three chairs on each side of it.

“Do I have to go search for him in another country again?” Jisoo muttered as he sat down on one of the chairs, resting his head on the table.

“No, he’s still here, otherwise they would’ve started to attack us,” Wonwoo commented as he sat on the opposite chair. “Not even they know where he is.”

“So they should be searching for him too,” Jisoo sighed. “He’s injured too, that stuff they used drained our force, and he took most of the attack.”

“They’re not even trying to hide themselves anymore,” Wonwoo said, “they’re desperate.”

There was a heavy silence between them, with the oil lamp between them as their only source of light in the back.

“Maybe we should really ask hyung for help,” speaking in a whisper, Wonwoo looked at the red bracelet in his wrist.

“How about we search for a bit more, and if in these days we can’t find him, then we’ll ask him for help,” Jisoo suggested, then took out a black feather and handed it to Wonwoo, “I’ll go look for a bit more, you need to go rest. If I find anything, or need help, this feather will burn.”

Wonwoo eyed the feather weirdly, this being the first time Jisoo had given him one as a method of communication. It definitely had an inner spirit force, most probably since it came directly from the other's own wings.

"I'll be going to some places further away," Jisoo explained, seeing the other's confused expression. "I'll also ask Mingyu and Myeongho for help, so I won't be on my own."

Wonwoo looked at Jisoo not completely sure on letting the older search on his own, especially considering the others knew he was best friends with Jeonghan. But thinking of the two wolves accompanying him, considering they were above the other demon clans, maybe it was a safer option.

Finally agreeing, Wonwoo showed Jisoo to the backdoor exit and saw as the other took out his wings and flew away.

Although he was reluctant to let Jisoo go alone, he indeed felt tired from running around the entire day. He could only go back inside and search for something to read.

The bookshelves from the entrance had normal old books, with recounts of historic events and some old fantastic stories. However, those on the back, were more related to the history of their demon clans, along with some family books that had been left behind for him, the new keeper.

He went for the closest bookshelf to the table they had been sitting on, and picked a random book before sitting down, leaving the feather in front of him so as to not miss it in case it started igniting.

After Soonyoung had left, not before telling Junhui to meet the next day at 2 PM, Yan An had also gone out to a studying meeting between his classmates, leaving Junhui alone in the apartment with Jeonghan.

Pondering for various minutes, walking from one side of the living room to the other, which wasn’t that much of a distance, Junhui finally decided on going to check on Jeonghan.

However, just as he was going to, the door to the bedroom the demon was staying in was opened. Immediately whipping his head towards it, Junhui started with wide eyes at the other male, who was leaning weakly on the door, holding his stomach with his free hand. Quickly running towards him, Junhui barely managed to make it in time before the other collapsed.

He was heavily panting, gripping his chest with one hand while the other tried to hold onto something else.

Too startled by the other male suddenly falling, the first thing Junhui did was hold Jeonghan's hand, immediately getting surprised by how cold it was. He looked at the pale skin turning to an even more sickly white, and the trembling of the body in his lap, as if he was freezing, made Junhui almost start sweating cold, too scared and not knowing what else to do.

His thoughts were running rampage, as the blood from the wounds began to seep from the bandages, staining the borrowed clothes Junhui had lent him.

And for a second his head cleared, as he glanced at his bandaid index finger and remembered the old tales his grandmother used to tell him. Then he gazed back at Jeonghan, to his mind coming back to his actions from the previous night.

Maybe it hadn’t been enough.

Ripping off the bandaid, Junhui stared at the small, barely visible, cut that had yet to scar completely. Carefully putting down the other, he stood up and ran to the kitchen.

With the sudden feeling of his force recovering, along with a familiar smell and presence floating over, and the safe warmth under him, Jeonghan slowly opened his eyes.

He expected to be back in his home, with his friends to accompany him, yet the moment he looked up to a pair of soft dark eyes staring back at him in worry, making them look almost like those of a child who had lost something dear to him, Jeonghan was immediately brought back to the reality of his situation. Along with the realization of the position they were in.

In nothing but a few seconds his whole face turned red. Flustered, Jeonghan stared at Junhui with wide eyes. Wanting to get away, too embarrassed to look at the other male any more, Jeonghan tried to quickly get off Junhui’s lap. However, a piercing pain went through his abdomen all the way to his arms and legs, stopping him in his movements. The wounds had opened a few moments ago, and although he didn’t feel as weakened as before, the injuries still hurt over any brisk move he did.

“Be careful,” Junhui helped him sit up, giving him some space once he saw the other wouldn’t fall again.

“What happened?” Jeonghan asked, his fingers pressing on his temples as he felt an unbearable headache, nearly similar to that of a hangover.

Except he hadn’t drank anything. Unless… 

“What did you put in that brot-

Jeonghan had turned towards Junhui ready to interrogate him, but his words got stuck in his throat as he began to cough, feeling something choking him.

Startled by Jeonghan’s sudden cough attack, Junhui tried to help him out, but just as he was going to reach out, he stopped, pulling back his hand. Then stood up and went to the kitchen.

With teary eyes, Jeonghan looked towards the way Junhui had left. With one hand pressing on his neck trying to keep the uncomfortable feeling down, he used the other to try and help himself stand up.

However, just as Jeonghan was managing to stand up, the force that he had just gotten back was immediately dispersed, leaving him weakened on his legs once again. Although it wasn’t as bad as before, like when he had just awoken earlier feeling nearly dead, it was enough to keep him from using his powers to their fullest, thus his wounds would still take long to heal.

It was like a course of waves running through his veins, flowing back and forth. But when it went away, it had taken along his entire strength, leaving him nothing but the pain from the feeling of his body trying to keep itself from self-destructing.

Knowing that if he remained this way, his body would only weaken more, Jeonghan finally made a choice.

A bit later, Junhui came back with a glass of water and was about to hand it to Jeonghan, when he suddenly stopped in his tracks. In front of him was a white fox staring directly at him, its eyes were like hundreds of stars stuck together, sparkling and bright. And in the pair of golden pools he could see a reflection of himself.

Definitely bigger than the one he had met as a child, it still managed to bring back some memories from when Junhui was a child, especially with those bandages on its body.

Going back to the kitchen with a glass of water in hand, Junhui then came back instead with a soup plate filled with water and put it down in front of Jeonghan. Kneeling down on the ground, so as to be on the same height as the fox, Junhui calmly stared at him.

Suddenly a shadow of an image came to Jeonghan's mind. Two small hands handing him a plate of water, a pair of inky eyes staring at him with dozens of stars in them. And those eyes, they were just like Junhui's.

"If it's easier for you in this form, don't force yourself to use the other," Junhui spoke, then raised a finger and said: "Also, try not to use much of your inner force, it’ll only open your wounds.”

After saying so, Junhui stood up and walked towards the couch to pick up his phone. However, as he turned back to look at Jeonghan, he found him staring at him, the plate of water untouched.

“Do you prefer a glass of water?” Junhui asked, smiling innocently.

For a second the fox went back to the handsome man, except this time his demonic features were more visible. The red shadow over the pair of sun filled eyes, along with the red marks under them. The fluffy silver ears on top of his hair of the same color, which had gone from the previous short to shoulder length, and on his back was a long fluff brush. The slender fingers that had grabbed the soup plate had longer sharp nails than before, it wasn’t hard to imagine how easily Jeonghan could rip him to shreds with them. But still, the most striking feature was his eyes, with the elongated pupil contrasting against a golden background.

“Funny,” Jeonghan responded, ignoring the content look on the other, before pressing the plate to his lips and gulping the entire liquid.

At least now the uncomfortable feeling on his throat was completely gone.

His movements suddenly stopped. His actions just now, they felt like a dejavu. And then, like a butterfly fluttering from afar, a distant memory immediately came back to him.

Sitting on the wooden floor of a bedroom in the middle of the night, the only company was someone on the bed behind him sleeping soundly. But who?

Then, right in front of Junhui, a light covered the young man’s body. Once it had dissipated, the white fox had appeared once again. It didn’t even give Junhui a second glance before it walked back into the bedroom.

Quite confused by Jeonghan’s previous actions, Junhui chuckled slightly, in an attempt to reassure himself that it didn’t matter that the other had completely forgotten about him and now treated him like a stranger, they could just become friends again. It was fine, it wasn’t like he had a very limited time here, and sooner or later he would have to leave.

Tired of overthinking, he picked up his phone and laid down on the couch. Opening some mobile games, Junhui decided to distract himself for a moment. Tomorrow will be a better day, he told himself.

On the next day, seeing that Jeonghan still hadn’t recovered himself, and it was also a Thursday, which meant Yan An would stay all day at uni, Junhui had no choice but to come to an agreement with Jeonghan. Although he had prepared both lunch and dinner for the other, Junhui wasn’t sure if it was okay for the other to stay alone, who knew if the people from before came to attack him. However, after changing the bandages Jeonghan had assured him that since he was still weak, his presence had also been diminished and thus they wouldn’t be able to find him so easily.

Then, Junhui told him that if he got better and wanted to leave, he could do so, but to at least leave a note so that Junhui wouldn’t get a heart attack. Jeonghan didn’t understand why the other looked almost desperate, in his eyes there was some kind of fear, almost reminiscent of a child begging him not to go. But as soon as Jeonghan nodded, a bit doubtful, wondering why the other cared so much for him, a stranger, Junhui immediately brightened, leaving to meet with Soonyoung.

At the dance studio the first thing Junhui met up with was a bunch of children crowding around one flustered Soonyoung, whom as soon as he saw Junhui enter the practice room, he immediately threw him a look that screamed “help”. Finding the situation of the other quite funny, Junhui stood back just staring with an innocent smile, to which Soonyoung could only glare in betrayal.

Finally, after considering that Soonyoung had probably “suffered” enough, Junhui stepped closer, catching the children’s attention. Quickly the group of kids ran towards Junhui, surrounding him as they threw dozens of questions at him. With complete ease he answered every single one of them, never once erasing the smile from his face.

Once the children had all calmed down, Soonyoung explained Junhui how the class usually went, along with the dance steps the kids were currently practicing. Attentive to everything the other said, Junhui still didn’t miss the way some of the little girls were “secretly” glancing at him.

Until one of them couldn’t help but ask:

“Oppa, where is Jihoon oppa? Is this handsome oppa gonna teach us?”

The little girl pulled at Soonyoung’s t-shirt, pointing with one finger of her other hand at Junhui.

“Ah, yes, Jihoonie can’t come today, but Junnie is gonna help me,” Soonyoung pulled the other by the arm, and patted him on the shoulder, “He’s also a really good dancer.”

“Junnie oppa,” another girl called out to him, repeating the same nickname Soonyoung had used, “are you going to dance for us?”

“Junnie oppa can you dance for us?”

Immediately another girl came up to him, followed soon by the other kids. They were all staring at him starry eyed, Junhui couldn’t bring himself to say no, and although a bit flustered by the sudden flux of children, merely nodded.

All the kids cheered, applauding, while two girls grabbed him by the hand and dragged him to the middle of the room. Being suddenly put on the spot, Junhui glanced at Soonyoung, searching for some help from his friend, yet the other only grinned at him then moved along with the children to applaud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early update just because it's their 5th anniversary~ and it's kinda longer too!  
> There is plot! There are more svt boys! And I'm back on working on it~ boy do I have some nice moments prepared for y'all  
> Hope you enjoyed, and if you did please leave some kudos and comments  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)
> 
> Ps. I won't add any more idols, but rather "OCs", since idk many 4th gen groups, Yanan is the exception because I liked him on CYZJ, I'm a 2nd and 3rd gen mostly, with some 1st gen QvQ)/


	18. Arc III. Chapter Six

With the sun on their heads, Mingyu and Myeongho continued to climb on the mountain, a winged shadow flying over their heads every once in a while. They had long since separated from the marked path, moving further into rockier and bushier areas. The trail they had been taking seemed without a definite course, with their feet only moving upwards and deeper.

A heavy fog had begun to surround them, and even Jisoo had to come down in order to not lose track of the other two. Folding the pair of black wings he didn’t look out of place inside the mist, rather as if he felt on his own home.

The denser the brume became, the more annoyed Mingyu felt at their decreasing sharp sight. Their environment was no different than a blurry film, with everything being difficult to differentiate. Yet even if their sense of sight had dulled, hearing and smell still allowed them to find a way to their destination.

“Say, if we can really find hyung’s location with their help,” Myeongho suddenly commented, a foot easily stepping over a bulging rock, “what makes you think the others haven't thought of this idea too?”

“Because unless a crow accompanies them, they’ll never be able to find their way into the valley,” Jisoo responded nonchalantly, palms open on each side.

“And crows don’t ally with anyone but themselves, just like owls,” Mingyu spoke on the side, taking hold of a large rock to help himself upward.

“Exactly,” he nodded, then stopped on his feet, catching the others’ attention. “But if we’re ever helped by someone, we’ll return the favor. And if someone wrongs us, we’ll get back at them ten fold.”

The meaning behind his words were clear, with Myeongho nodding in understanding. While Mingyu, who hadn’t managed to catch a glimpse of Jisoo’s expression as he said those words, could only vaguely make himself an idea of what the older was planning.

The humidity inside the mist felt like a contrast to the hot air from the outside they had experienced, cold and sticking to their skin in cool droplets of water, making it almost uncomfortable to walk through it. The air traveling past them would make anyone break in shivers, sending chills all over the body.

With the further they advanced, the heavy mist slowly began turning clear and thinner. The surroundings felt more refreshing rather than chilly, and the unpleasant dampness adhered to their skin suddenly felt like a nice shower after an arduous day.

Jisoo stood in front of the other two, keeping the others behind with one arm before giving a couple of steps. Then, a pair of black feathered wings fluttered open. At the same time, the entire fog around them had parted in two.

The night sky illuminated only by a full moon allowed them a complete view of a beautiful pavilion. With heavy spiritual energy floating around stood a tall gazebo with stone steps and a clear pond in front of it, along with the surrounding red maple trees; the place had an inexplicable serenity to it.

Mingyu and Myeongho stared speechless at their friend. They turned around, expecting to find the hazed path from where they had come from, only to find a large meadow. There was nothing of the mountain they had climbed, as if they had suddenly transported elsewhere.

“Let’s go,” Jisoo smiled, bringing the two guys, still astounded, towards the gazebo.

After learning the dance routine Soonyoung had prepared for the kids, Junhui also began to help the children get the right steps. Patiently explaining to those who had some more difficulties understanding, and demonstrating the steps himself when necessary.

It didn’t take long for most of the kids to get attached to this new teacher who Soonyoung had brought for them, and as soon as the class was over, while waiting for their parents to come pick them up, many started to surround Junhui with dozens of questions. It was difficult for him to understand most of them, as they all were speaking at the same time, and the words kept getting mixed up with the others. He could barely make sense of what the loudest ones were saying.

“How about you ask one by one?” Junhui raised one finger, patiently waiting for them to quiet down.

Surprisingly, that seemed to do it, as they all quieted down and looked up at him.

By the side, Soonyoung stared impressed, not totally expecting Junhui to calm them down as quickly.

“Oppa, are you an actor?

One of the taller girls asked first. Immediately Junhui and Soonyoung began to sweat cold, not knowing exactly how to answer. Just now they realized Junhui hadn’t told Minghua about today, and supposedly he had to stay lowkey and not attract much attention until all films were out, that was the agreement to allow him a certain freedom when going out.

“Uhm… why do you ask that?” Junhui smiled gently. He couldn’t believe that a seven year old would recognize him.

“Because you’re handsome!”

The girl answered confidently, pointing at Junhui’s face.

Junhui sighed inwardly, feeling as if a sudden heaviness had been lifted from his shoulders. On the other side Soonyoung glared bitterly at the kids that had nodded after the little girl’s words, they had never asked him if he was an actor.

“You’re right, I’m very handsome,” Junhui replied full of confidence, posing for the other kids to see, provoking lots of laughter from the boys while girls clapped contentedly.

While some of the parents had begun to arrive, others were taking longer. It was normal for some of the kids until late, but seeing the anxious gazes from a few children on the transparent glass door giving to the reception, Junhui stopped talking with Soonyoung. An idea soon popped into his head and he immediately grabbed the other by the wrist and began to pull him back towards the kids. Noticing the mischievous grin appearing on Junhui’s face, Soonyoung was sure that for late afternoon he would be taking care of one more child.

In order to distract the kids for the meantime, Junhui decided the best would be to play a game. And so Soonyoung found himself chasing after a bunch of children, plus one more tall child in the spacious studio. Every round, at least two kids would ask Junhui to carry them, and he would gladly oblige.

The game went on, until every kid was finally gone and it was time to lock up.

“So, what did you think of today?” Soonyoung asked while mopping the floor on one side.

On the other side Junhui smiled widely, “It was fun, and teaching the kids reminded me of my childhood. They’re all so cute, I wish I could continue teaching them.”

“You’re definitely much better than Jihoon with them,” Soonyoung snickered, as if remembering something. “If you want to, you can keep coming to help me. I’m pretty sure Jihoon would welcome your assistance when the kids start getting overwhelming.”

Hearing those words, Junhui’s eyes brightened, nodding in response.

The house had been very quiet during the entire day, which was to be expected as Jeonghan had been the only one there. He hadn’t really done much except for sleeping in order to recover his strength, and compared to the previous day, he felt a little better. Although he still was in no condition to go out and openly fight those other guys, Jeonghan felt that at least he could keep his less demonic form for longer. Just the day before he had reverted to his fox form, and when changing he couldn’t hide his true demon body.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable roaming the empty apartment, he decided to stay in Junhui’s room, preferably just on the bed.

Jeonghan stared at his broken phone, trying to figure out how to communicate with his friends without alerting the others. If he were to use a crow to find Jisoo, then he would give his location away, same if he were to enchant a leaf and send it to Wonwoo or Myeongho and Mingyu, and he didn’t want to involve Junhui and Yan An in a battle between demons.

But there was something which kept bugging Jeonghan on the back of his mind. No matter how nice a person were to be, if they discovered the one they rescued was actually a demon, they would at best kick them out and at worst call someone to exorcise it. However, Junhui had done neither, instead just acting like it was the most ordinary thing, and even convincing the other human to let Jeonghan stay. It just didn’t make sense to him.

“Not even Seungcheol, Jihoon and Chan were this calm when they first found out,” Jeonghan said to himself, frowning. “Too suspicious.”

The more he thought about it, the more doubtful Jeonghan began to feel about Junhui’s intentions. He just knew too much about demons like him, especially when treating his wounds. And there were also slip ups, when Junhui acted way too familiar, calling him by his name. Yet no matter how much he tried, Jeonghan couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

He dropped his head while letting out a deep sigh, then looked at the changed bandages on his torso. They had been carefully put on, and during the entire time Junhui had talked with him, not once had he asked about how he got so injured or who those people chasing him were.

So many questions that kept appearing on his head, but try as he might, Jeonghan couldn’t find a way to ask them without making it awkward. It was weird, how the one who should be questioning everything had remained silent about it, not even acting surprised at anything related to Jeonghan’s demonic self. He rather seemed quite used to it.

As soon as Junhui opened the door to the apartment he was greeted by Jeonghan’s handsome face, much healthier, he noticed too, as the paleness from the previous days had diminished. There was more color to his cheeks, and he didn’t seem to be staggering anymore. Junhui finally felt some relief; this time the recovery appeared to be going faster than fourteen years ago.

“You need to explain,” Jeonghan suddenly spoke, bringing back Junhui’s attention.

The taller male didn’t quite understand what the demon meant, but he still nodded, responding with a bright smile, relaxed as he stepped into the apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... update will take a bit since there's some things i need to fix in the story, but don't worry, will try to work on it as soon as possible  
> Also, none of these updates are edited, and probably, besides what i'll fix, the rest will be unedited too  
> Hope you enjoyed, please leave kudos and comments  
> Stay safe and be nice!  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


	19. Arc III. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wasn’t it ironic, that the one to leave this time would be him and not Jeonghan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta read! Not edited!

The two young men sat on the sofa, with Junhui beginning to feel kind of nervous by Jeonghan’s stare, seeming to watch his every movement. It wouldn’t be surprising if Junhui tried to escape Jeonghan could easily catch him, especially since he wasn’t as weak as previously.

“What… what do you want me to explain?” Junhui crossed his legs, his gaze seemingly carefree.

“Last time you avoided the question, but how are you so calm with this?” Jeonghan pointed at the fox ears on top of his head, “Why do you speak like you already know a lot about demons?”

Junhui lowered his head, frowning and biting his lips. The feelings coming from those questions, it stung him a bit- no, a lot. He knew the only way was to lie. Hide the truth, Junhui told himself, because lying would feel as if it never happened. But it didn’t hurt any less.

“When I was a child, I met a demon,” his voice was soft, barely audible, and he refused to look up at the other. “He was injured, and I helped him, taking care of his bandages and bringing him food without my grandparents knowing. From the time we spent together, I learned a little about demons like him. Some other stuff was from folk tales my grandparents used to tell me; they ended up having more truth to them than I had expected back then.”

Jeonghan remained silent, amber eyes focused on the younger male’s hands which had clenched into fists, apparently without the other aware of his own actions. He could hear it; although Junhui’s voice seemed composed, it was merely a layer to hide the grief in his words.

There was something else too, Jeonghan noticed, a tug on the back of his mind, which kept attempting to bring him towards a locked door. Except he didn’t have the key, all he could do was ignore it, it probably wasn’t important. However, listening to Junhui’s words, something stung him, almost unnoticeable, but it was there.

Junhui didn’t dare to see Jeonghan’s reaction, he knew all he would find in his eyes was strangement, not one single bit of recognition. And as much as he had tried to convince himself these past two days, the pain just wouldn’t disappear in such little time.

“Why didn’t the demon eat you? If he was injured, it would have been easier to heal himself that way,” Jeonghan couldn’t imagine himself a demon befriending a child, it was ridiculous and unheard of.

At that question, Junhui chuckled, raising an eyebrow as he stared straight at the other. The way Jeonghan had asked it, made it even more amusing to him, since he had had the same questions during that time.

“I don’t know, why haven’t you eaten Yan An or me to recover yourself quicker?” Junhui asked, the corner of his lips rising in a mischievous smile. “Even if I had wanted to stop you, you could easily overpower both of us.”

Feeling his cheeks reddening, Jeonghan looked away, “I don’t feed off humans, or at least I won’t if I can avoid it.”

“Then, would you also not eat a child?”

Suddenly the air became tense. Junhui had his gaze focused on the other. And Jeonghan felt like there was a hidden meaning in that question, although he didn’t dwell much on it as he decisively answered.

“Hm, I wouldn’t. Not a big fan of eating children, even if other demons would prefer otherwise.”

“Then maybe he also thought like you,” Junhui grinned, the tension immediately vanishing.

“You got lucky then,” Jeonghan was amused.

“Yup!”

Junhui’s smile grew wider, his eyes sparkling with dozens of stars as his gaze fell on the man on the other side of the couch. He sure got lucky to meet Jeonghan, those times the older helped him, even when they still didn’t know much of each other.

_ Ever since the last time Junhui had nearly gotten himself lost on the mountain, Jeonghan refused to let him leave out of his sight whenever he went to play there or to surrounding woods. Apparently Junhui’s friends thought the same as one of them was always accompanying him whenever he strayed further. _

_ However, on this day Junhui had decided to go play with his friends without telling Jeonghan, only telling his grandparents offhandedly as he ran out of the house. Jeonghan had been taking a nap, curled on the bed, and so he didn’t realize the moment Junhui had left. _

_ The group of friends had decided to go play in the woods near the mountains. There were various animals around there but they rarely got near humans due to fear. _

_ It was nearing dinner time, and the sky was turning into various tones of red as the sun began to set. He had been out for quite some time now, and Junhui knew they had to go back home as his grandparents would be waiting for him. They were very lenient towards him, but would definitely not allow him to skip dinner time. _

_ Leaving aside the branch he had been using to kick on the earth, Junhui stood up and brushed off the earth from his pants. However, just as he was about to call for his friends, he came to notice there was no one around him and he had strayed far from them. _

_ “Qian-jie! A-Xin! A-Yi! A-Huo!” _

_ He yelled for them many times, but no one answered him back. _

_ “Dong Lianxin! Mu Xianyi!” _

_ Still not receiving any answers from his friends, Junhui began to worry. He stared down at his feet, his little hands turning to fists while he tried to keep himself from crying. _

_ He knew it was his fault for getting distracted with a rabbit and following it here, but he had thought the others could be following behind him, since he had called out to them the moment he saw it. _

_ The longer he spent out here the more threatening darkening sky felt, not to mention the cold air from the incoming night seeping through his light clothes into his bones. Hugging himself, Junhui began to walk towards the way he had come from. However, under the growing dark sky everything looked different from earlier. _

_ It was a new moon, the lamp lights were too far away, there was nothing that could illuminate his surroundings. When the night finally fell, all around him would be nothing but darkness. His body trembled as tears began to fall down. _

_ Afraid of getting any more lost, Junhui remained still. Suddenly the sound of animals felt too loud, too close. He was alone. How long until the others realized and went for help? Junhui wanted to laugh, humorless, guilt invading him as he thought of the other day on the mountain. He had troubled them again. _

_ The tears hadn’t stopped falling, trying to keep his sobs and sniffing as quiet as possible Junhui covered his mouth with both hands. He knew the chances of an animal attacking him were too few, but in the middle of the dark his mind was panicked, turning to every nightmare his brain could imagine. _

_ Out of nowhere an owl flew right past him, provoking a loud yelped from him as he fell on his butt, the leaves and branches cracking under him sounding so deafening his entire body petrified. He couldn’t get up, Junhui felt like his legs had turned to jelly, weak and unresponsive. With what little strength he had, he quickly backed into the nearest tree. Pulling his knees up to his chest, he tried to muffled his sobs, his eyes wide opened in fear as tears continued to fall nonstop. _

_ Then, as if he hadn’t gone through enough jump scares, as Junhui looked up from his knees, he caught the sound of something sliding towards him, fast. As it got closer, Junhui was finally able to make more or less its shape, finding a long snake right in front of him. Its yellow eyes were the first thing he saw, paralyzing him in fear and all color drained from his face. His body didn’t seem to respond to his instincts, as if he had lost control of it and could do nothing but wait for the snake to attack. _

_ Just as the reptile jumped straight at Junhui’s growing paled face, it suddenly stopped a few centimeters away from his eyes, before being dragged back up. _

_ The snake struggled to break free, but abruptly froze, its body stilling for a second before hanging limp. _

_ “Weakling,” a familiar voice said above Junhui, “go back to your kind. If you dare touch him again I’ll destroy all of you.” _

_ The voice was chilling, so unlike Junhui had ever heard him. He couldn’t tell what the other had said, couldn’t even look up at him, but apparently the snake had understood him, as soon as it was dropped it quickly slid away. _

_ “Jun.” _

_ The young man had crouched down to his height, a hand slowly reaching towards him, almost hesitant. Junhui had still yet to react, his hands still shaking as they gripped into his pants. A cold finger came in touch with his cheeks, softly wiping away the tears. _

_ The familiar coldness finally broke him out of his shock, as Junhui immediately threw himself at Jeonghan’s arms, hiding his face into his chest, momentarily forgetting the injuries from the other. Jeonghan held back the hiss of pain, one hand brushing slowly the boy’s messy hair, while the other gently rubbed circles at his back. The fluffy brush encircled around the both of them, bringing some warmth to Junhui; at last his shivering had ceased. _

_ Jeonghan waited patiently for the child to calm down, until he finally stopped crying. Junhui drew his arms and pushed Jeonghan away as he wiped the remaining tears, feeling quite embarrassed the other had found him like that. _

_ Seeing the boy wanting to act like he hadn’t just cried and left his clothes wet, Jeonghan merely smiled endeared. He didn’t laugh nor say anything else, staying crouched on the ground until he saw Junhui turned around, his cheeks flushed and eyes red and puffy. _

_ He extended one hand and Junhui took it without hesitation. _

_ Jeonghan walked him towards where all the adults were waiting for him, before changing back and running off. He would take another path and meet Junhui back at the child’s grandparents’ home. _

As Junhui explained to Jeonghan the little bits of his experience with the “friendly demon”, along with the information he had managed to gather around during that time along with folk stories his grandparents had told him, and how it gave him something of an experience in dealing with demons. He also mentioned that until meeting Jeonghan (again), he had never met another demon.

Although at first Jeonghan was quite skeptical of Junhui’s words, the way he had reacted to his real appearance, along with how he had naturally asked about his spiritual strength, Jeonghan could tell Junhui was speaking the truth. There wasn’t much else he could ask the other to prove that he hadn’t already done, and Jeonghan felt that questioning more about Junhui’s childhood would be too nosy.

However, there was one detail bothering Jeonghan, biting on his lips as he mulled over it.

Junhui saw the way Jeonghan kept avoiding his eyes, his gaze hesitant, while his lips turned into a deeper cherry as he bit into them. A fleeting thought appeared on Junhui’s head: a pair of soft petals soft to the touch, tempting and alluring. He quickly pushed it away, just as he hoped his face hadn’t revealed anything.

“Jeonghan… hyung?”

It came naturally, the familiarity rolling off his tongue as he didn’t ponder too much on the way of addressing. It wasn’t until Jeonghan looked up at him with wide eyes, something hidden in them Junhui couldn’t make out what exactly it was.

“The demon you met, was he also a fox?”

Junhui stayed silent, his eyes landing on Jeonghan’s, searching for any form of recognizement, yet to his dismay finding none.

“Yeah, I had first confused him as a normal fox, and originally only planned on taking care of him until he healed,” Junhui spoke, reminiscing the first day he found the little fox, “after he got better I would let him go.”

He then chuckled.

“I didn’t expect him to be a demon.”

Seeing the smile on Junhui’s face, along with the nostalgia in his eyes, Jeonghan felt a pang of pain in his chest, almost like guilt.

“Do you miss him?”

Jeonghan asked suddenly. He didn’t know where that question came from, he had no right to know about Junhui’s childhood. But somewhere deep within him, a part of him that he couldn’t understand, he wanted to know. Maybe to satiate a desperate need he wasn’t even aware he had. Yet a voice kept screaming at him to ask, he needed to know the answer to it.

Junhui remained silent, feeling a lump in his throat denying him to speak the truth. How could he answer that question without giving away more? Even if all those years he had missed Jeonghan, every night staring at the piece of paper with the three characters that proved the other had existed and it wasn’t just a summer dream. Even if he had stopped himself from forgetting, always fearing that those days would transform into nothing more than summer haze. Could he say those words to Jeonghan, knowing that the other wouldn’t remember anything?

It’s okay, we can make new memories.

They could make new memories, some that maybe would be more difficult to forget, until Junhui had to go back. No matter how much he tried to ignore it, a voice kept reminding him he still had to go back to China, he couldn’t always stay in South Korea. Wasn’t it ironic, that the one to leave this time would be him and not Jeonghan?

It was like a bad joke.

And after he left, Junhui knew he would miss Jeonghan. Even now, talking to Jeonghan wasn’t like talking to the one from his childhood memories. Junhui could tell they were different in the way Jeonghan treated him. Although it wasn’t very surprising if he thought about; it was normal to be more afraid of an adult than a child who could do nothing against him.

“Yeah, I miss him,” he said. “But I wonder if he ever missed me?”

The gradual dimming eyes avoiding his own, losing the previous shine so characteristic of them from the moment Jeonghan woke up in this place, Jeonghan wanted to reach and hug him. Somehow, he could vaguely remember ruffling a boy’s hair, the smaller body resting against his side, warm and safe. Unconsciously, he extended one hand, then, surprised by his own actions, quickly pulled it back.

“But right now it’s fine.”

Junhui looked at him, flashing him a genuine bright smile, his eyes sparkling. It came as second nature for Jeonghan to smile back, influenced by the radiance from the other.

“If we were to meet again, even if he forgot me, I’d like to make new memories together.”

That did it for Jeonghan. The guilt surging from his heart and expanding all over his body, making him want to curl up in himself, to reach out to Junhui and hug him, embrace him. He didn’t know where all that came from, and rather than acting on it, Jeonghan decided to keep it inside, not letting it show even the least of his expression.

“I’m sorry for telling you all this,” Junhui sighed, standing up, “but I hope that you could trust me even a bit, at least until your injuries heal.”

Jeonghan stared at him, lost, his eyes searching for something. What? He didn’t know, but whatever it was he couldn’t find it.

“No,” he said, “I asked too much, I’m sorry.”

He avoided gazing back into Junhui’s eyes the moment the other turned around, suddenly feeling way too exposed.

“I’m not sure how much I can trust you, though.”

Junhui chuckled, dark eyelashes fanning on his cheeks with his eyes closed.

“It’s fine, as long as you can get better, that’s all that matters,” with a shrug of his shoulders Junhui walked away, leaving Jeonghan still sitting on the couch, then said: “Please stay there a bit, I’ll bring the bandages to change them.”

Junhui’s parting back seemed so familiar, and for a moment a hazy figure appeared to blur in together in front of Jeonghan’s eyes. It was for less than a second, and before he could think about it, a throbbing pain surged in his head.

Wincing, Jeonghan held his temple. Then, without realizing, tears had begun to fall.

When Junhui came back with the bandages in his hands, he was met with Jeonghan lying down lazily on the couch, one arm over his eyes while the other hung on the side. It was kind of nostalgic. Junhui couldn’t help the corners of his lips rising, a warm smile drawing in his face.

Calling out to the other, Junhui walked closer. Jeonghan moved his arm away from his face and stared at the pair of dark eyes, not a single bit of danger hidden in them, the warmth brimming from them was pure and sincere. For a moment Jeonghan felt undeserving of it, the guilt he didn’t even know where it came from eating at his heart. He then looked at Junhui’s hands and sat up, removing the t-shirt Junhui had lent him to let the other change his bandages.

A heavy silence surrounded them, a silence none of them dared to break, each stuck on their own thoughts.

When Yan An returned from university late at night, he found Junhui and Jeonghan sitting down on each extreme of the couch. The TV was turned on, but Junhui was busy on his laptop, typing something with a frown on his face; while Jeonghan just laid there, nearly half of his body sprawled on the floor, he didn’t really seem to be paying attention to the show on the screen, rather his mind wandering somewhere else.

Even without speaking Yan An could feel a tense atmosphere around those two, and for a moment he considered asking Junhui what had happened, before then considering that his friend should first try and solve it on his own, then if things still didn’t work out, he would intervene. After all, it wasn’t comfortable living under such tension inside such a small apartment, and Yan An wasn’t planning on staying inside his room the entire time he was here. He was kind of relieved these days he’d have to stay until late for their project, so at least he wouldn’t feel Jeonghan’s constant threatening glare whenever they were in the same room.

He acted like he wasn’t aware of the tension between them, greeted them like usual and simply walked to the bathroom to take a shower. Above all else, Yan An was also tired; it was summer, final exams just around the corner, along with the due dates for their projects, Junhui had better act like the oldest of them two and solve whatever problem he had with Jeonghan. Yan An knew he was capable of taking responsibility, had seen it when they were children and teenagers, even during the time they’ve spent living together; then why did he feel there was something else weighing between Junhui and Jeonghan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost forgot to update, it may a bit late but here it is!  
> Got distracted binge reading more danmei novels, so gonna be honest, haven't done much writing or editing, sorry (haven't even done my work QvQ)  
> Hope you enjoyed, please leave kudos and comments, they help keeping me a little bit sane in these tire times  
> Stay safe and be nice!  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


	20. Arc III. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flash of a memory came to him, a similar scenario.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not edit! Not beta read!

The few following days, Junhui spent them going with Soonyoung to the dance studio to help him with lessons, whether they were children or teenagers, either during early or until late afternoon. The rest of his time he spent helping Jeonghan recover, observing the older male in case he relapsed and had to take drastic measures again. Although he seemed to be recovering quickly, much quicker than years ago. When it was just the two of them in the apartment, sometimes Junhui would tell him a bit about his life back home, and places he would like to take his friends from here, while Jeonghan would gladly listen, sometimes dropping small details about places he used to visit during his childhood. Little by little, Jeonghan came to realize that Junhui just wanted to be his friend, and while still a bit unsure, he wasn’t completely against the idea of befriending another human.

The busiest Junhui was, it was during his calls with President Zhao, Lao Lu and Minghua, talking about the releases of the next movies he had taken part of, and how he would participate in the promotions. The longer those calls went, the heavier weight Junhui felt both in mind and heart. He couldn’t figure out how to resolve the issue about promotion without directly telling President Zhao he was planning to participate only on small ones. It was irresponsible, of course he knew that. Questions towards himself surged inside him, questions he couldn’t find nor did have an answer for, and questions he didn’t dare voice them out loud to others.

In the early mornings Minghua would come for him to take him to meetings with the movies’ directors and the rest of the crew. And for the first time in his life as an actor, Junhui felt out of place. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be there, rather it felt like he no longer belonged there. He tried to act as his usual self, as if the anxiety wasn’t eating him from the inside, an incoming dark cloud looming behind him, threatening to swallow him whole. Yet Minghua still sensed something odd about him, and she didn’t hesitate on bringing it up on their way back.

Junhui didn’t know how to answer her questions. He didn’t even know how to answer his own questions that didn’t stop invading his mind. For the first time since he started acting; for the first time since he became an adult; for the first time: Junhui didn’t know what he wanted to do.

When Yan An took him out to eat lunch and they met with some of the other’s university friends Junhui acted like he was fine, nothing out of the usual from him. After all, Junhui was a great actor, one of the greatest young actors President Zhao had once told him. On the days Junhui went to Soonyoung’s studio, after meeting Jihoon, who was their same age, he still showed no signs of anything bad going on within him. Not even Jeonghan, who had the keenest of senses, and could easily pick out when something was wrong, could sense anything wrong with him. For a moment Junhui felt proud of himself as an actor, and for a moment he started to wonder if everything he was doing here was worthless and should just go back to the Mainland.

And then there was another call with President Zhao. It started as a call with Lao Lu, which quickly escalated once Lao Lu felt the growing insecurity and hesitance on Junhui’s voice. Then it was President Zhao’s voice in the line, scolding and nagging him. Finally the same questions Minghua, and Junhui himself, had asked him.

“Do you plan on staying there forever? Have you even considered coming back?!”

It had been quite a long time since Junhui had heard so much anger from President Zhao. He had been scolded before, hearing the older man’s heavy and angry voice, but not usually like that. Only a few times, when Junhui was still a small actor and didn’t know any better.

Then the yelling had quickly escalated, with Junhui also starting to raise his voice, yet his words still not bordering on disrespectful. But there was clear frustration and unease in his voice, emotions he couldn’t hide and in that moment had immediately poured out in cascades non-stop.

Jeonghan had been awoken by the sudden yelling coming from the living room. It wasn’t so much the loud voice, but rather the person it was coming from. He had never expected Junhui could raise his voice like that, and even if he couldn’t understand what the younger was saying, he could easily hear the exasperation and anger. Yet what caught his attention the most, his brows furrowing in concern, was the anxiety and helplessness hidden under layers of other emotions.

Worry overcame him, almost wanting to go out there and comfort the younger, especially when he heard Junhui’s voice cracking. However, the moment that thought appeared, he quickly pushed it away, disconcerted at himself. Besides, although they acted like everything was fine, Jeonghan could still sense the heavy tension between themselves, so dense it could almost be cut with a knife. He hesitated, wondering if Junhui would even appreciate his concern, after all there was only so much the younger could let him pass, and he most likely also had his bottom line.

But the more anguish he could hear in Junhui's voice, the guy doing his best to hide it from others, others that weren’t Jeonghan, the more Jeonghan felt his own chest hurting. The worry eating at him, his heart thumping quick and loudly, as his concern towards the other increased exponentially.

At some point Jeonghan didn’t even bother on trying to figure out why he felt like that, rather jumping from the bed and changing back to his human form, not caring he wasn’t still fully recovered and such sudden transformation would suck up most of his energy, he pulled the door opened and walked to the living room.

He found Junhui lying on the couch, face hidden on the ugly pillow he had gotten as a gift from Soonyoung as a joke, and his back towards Jeonghan. The mobile had been abandoned on the floor, right beside the empty bag of chips from the previous night.

Jeonghan couldn’t sense anything from Junhui, only a calmed breathing as if the other had fallen asleep.

Hesitant, Jeonghan changed back to his fox form and moved closer to the younger man. Slowly he nuzzled the other, something he used to do when his younger sister, or any of the younger foxes, was feeling down. He also remembered him doing the same when he was still a cub. Suddenly a flash of a memory came to him, a similar scenario in which he nuzzled in an attempt to comfort a little boy, yet as soon as it came it vanished, not giving him any time to think more about it.

The abrupt movement from the other alerted Jeonghan, carefully watching for any sign of the other’s consciousness. But instead all he heard was a low, almost silent whisper, sounding more like murmur.

“ _ Xiao Han… _ ”

There it was again, Jeonghan thought. The first day since he woke up in their apartment, he heard Junhui yelling those words at him, and somewhere on the deepest of his mind Jeonghan felt them tugging at him, but couldn’t figure them out. And now, hearing them again, his heart pained.

Changing back to his demon form, for the first time not caring if someone were to walk on him, Jeonghan sat beside Junhui, golden eyes staring at his back shuddering every once in a while. He didn’t know where the tears came from, nor did the next words he spoke, but at that moment he didn’t bother to care about them.

“I’m sorry.”

In the back room of the library, illuminated only by a small lamp on the table, a silver necklace with a red pendant laid in front of four pairs of eyes. They had stayed locked up inside this room for an entire day, and they still couldn’t find anything, frustration growing in them

“Are you sure there wasn’t anything else?”

Wonwoo turned to Jisoo, the oldest hadn’t stopped frowning since they had come back from the mountain. Although they had only stayed for three days up there, in real life they had spent six days, and when they had gotten back the others still hadn’t found any clue of where their friend could be.

“No, and after searching everywhere else, this was still all there was,” Jisoo sighed, “That, and a single chinese character had been drawn on the pool.”

“ _ Splendor _ ,” Myeongho said. “Still not much to go from.”

“If not even the Blinding Pool could find him, either he’s in some place with a protective barrier, or…”

“His spiritual strength may have weakened more than we thought,” Myeongho finished Mingyu’s sentence.

“Worst case scenario, could be both,” Wonwoo tapped on the table, frowning.

Again silence fell between them, everyone frowning as they continued to stare at the necklace.

Wonwoo’s worry only continued to increase, seriously considering going to the clan leaders for assistance, yet still feeling unsure. He knew that if they were to find Jeonghan, after they found out what had happened they wouldn’t even hesitate putting him back on house arrest.

“We’re getting nowhere,” Myeongho spoke, standing up from the chair. “I’m going out this weekend with Jihoon and some friends from uni, I’ll ask him if he’s found anything.”

“Are you going to  _ that _ restaurant again? Can I go?” Mingyu perked up at the mention of going out, the two oldest looked at him helplessly.

“You just want to bother that waiter again,” Myeongho rolled his eyes, not even bothering to answer as he walked away.

“Hey! Last time he started it!” Mingyu quickly bit back, following after his friend.

The two remaining men stared at the backs from their younger friends, Jisoo amused while Wonwoo seemed unimpressed.

Going back to the necklace, it seemed oddly familiar to Wonwoo, as if he had seen it somewhere before years ago. The others had found it in a park hanging from a tall tree’s branch, along with dark energy leftovers on one of the trees, a cut two inches deep like that of a dagger. It had poisoned the tree, leaving it weak and nearly dead. They couldn’t do anything when they found it, as demons they had no power to heal other living beings but themselves.

Suddenly a beeping coming from Jisoo’s phone brought them out of their thoughts.

Curious as to who it could be, Jisoo took out his mobile, a slight endeared smile drawing on his face as he looked at the screen. He quickly typed a response to the message and saved it back on the pocket of his pants.

“Seungcheol just came back from work, I need to go back,” Jisoo stood up and took the necklace, “There are snakes scurrying around outside, better take it somewhere else.”

“I know,” Wonwoo shrugged, also standing up as he turned off the lamp, their only source of light inside the dark room. “I’ve already memorized it, I’ll continue searching through some of the books, if I find anything I’ll give you a call.”

The old factory on the dirty abandoned slums had been surrounded by heavy resentment, the pungent odor invading any passing demon’s smell senses to the point of driving them insane or completely knocking them out. The fighting inside the lower floor had been going for quite awhile, neither party giving up. Bloodlust dripped from their eyes, and the mixed smell of sweat and blood ignited their most violent instincts; they were no different from wild beasts.

At the sound of tearing flesh, body fluids spluttering all over the ground and surrounding demons, and the cries and screams from the fighters every time someone cut too deep, punched too hard, bit too strongly, the person standing at the top of the tallest platform grinned wider, forked tongue licking his own sharp teeth in ecstasy at the view below him. It wasn’t like that fight from fourteen years ago-- no, nothing would reach the exhilarating levels of that fight-- but it was exciting enough, he had even forgotten about the especially destilized wine on his right hand.

“Yuwon,” a low voice spoke behind him, immediately drawing a frown into his previous elated expression.

“What?”

He took a sip and raised an eyebrow, not bothering to hide his annoyance at the sudden interruption.

“They’re moving, even more desperately than before; not even they can’t find him,” his tone of voice was monotone, uncaring about whether he had disrupted the other.

“And those are supposed to be good news?” Yuwon spoke calmly, “How about what I ordered you to do?”

“The Book Keeper hasn’t left the library, and we can’t attack due to the array protecting it,” the other explained everything precisely and concisely, detached of any emotion in his words. “The crow spends most time on the sky, and every time they move to attack he easily defends back. The two wolves are even more difficult, as soon as they release a bit of their force the others run away.”

“What about the little girl?”

“We can’t find her, they seem to be hiding her.”

Yuwon snorted, mocking and irritated at the same time. His glare intensified.

“Of course they’ve hidden her, they can’t find their little heir, so now they gotta put their everything on protecting the little heiress,” Yuwon smiled full of scorn, then took a sip of the wine. “Just like fourteen years ago.”

He let out a sigh of nostalgia, something dark and hungry flashing in his yellow eyes.

“Jihyun,” he called to the larger man behind him, “go call your friends and tell them we’re going hunting. At some point or another he’s bound to crawl out his hole.”

“Yes, sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a short chapter, also little dialogue ;-; but I assure you next chapter will have more. Also, we’re finally reaching the point up to where I’ve got written, so... yea updates are about to become very sporadic *chuckles nervously* oh dear..  
> Hope you enjoyed, please leave kudos and comments!  
> Stay safe and be nice!  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


	21. Arc III. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How much longer are you staying?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta, not edited

Junhui had woken up to a familiar warmth beside him. Startled, he quickly turned around, not expecting to see Jeonghan sitting on the floor with his head lying beside him and his hands holding onto Junhui’s left one. The tight grip would have seemed painful for any other person, yet all Junhui could feel was the unspilled tears threatening to fall, his heart aching in both endearment and anguish. Words begging to be spoken, only for him to swallow them back.

It was unsettling, how even after so long, he was still so fond over the fox demon. The events from so many years ago were still so fresh in his mind; the warmth, the happiness, and overflowing care the demon tried to hide under his apparent coldness, yet Junhui was still able to grasp it. Junhui couldn’t believe how long he had kept this person in his memories.

The fast thumping of his heart as he stared at the sleeping Jeonghan, his eyes closed with his eyelashes fanning over his cheeks, and mouth slightly opened, his rose tinted lips like petals looking so soft and tempting. Immediately Junhui halted all his thoughts with a start.

Then the realization hit him. The entire time he had been speaking on the phone, including when the yelling had started, Jeonghan was there. The walls were thin and everything could be heard easily, so it wouldn’t be surprising that Jeonghan had heard his discussion.

_ Was he worried about me? _

There was no other explanation for the other to be sleeping beside him. Junhui could vaguely remember a snout nuzzling him from the back, but at the time had thought it had been his imagination, old memories coming to haunt him. He was surprised to find it hadn’t been just a dream.

“If I were to tell you the truth, would you believe me?” Junhui whispered, his free hand brushing through soft silver strands of hair. It was still the same.

Turning to look at the window, Junhui was surprised to find out it was almost dawn. The sky turning into various shades of reds and oranges, it brought him back memories. The late summer air filtering through the window had some of a nostalgic feel with their current positions.

Junhui almost wanted to laugh at himself humorless.

It was as if fate was playing with him, most likely enjoying turning his emotions into its own playground for it to spend the time idling around, throwing him from one side to the other, letting him grasp a little bit of hope, to then forcefully rip it away from his fingers.

He looked down at the strands of hair slipping away from his finger like water; Junhui wondered if he would lose Jeonghan again, if he had missed his chance when Minghua had first found him. Perhaps fate had indeed given him a chance, and Junhui just ignored it over his own insecurities.

Tired of mulling over the same things, Junhui sighed and stood up.

Without any difficulty he picked up Jeonghan. Careful of the long white brush he carried him in his arms and took him to continue sleeping on his bed. After putting the other down, Junhui was about to leave to make himself something to eat, when a hand reached to grip on his wrist, stopping him from leaving. The skin was cold against his own, as if there was no vitality on the other, but just seeing the steady up and down movement from Jeonghan’s chest was enough to quickly disperse that thought. Junhui had already become used to that cool sensation, so he merely pulled off Jeonghan’s hand and tucked it back under the covers.

“Don’t go,” a barely audible whisper came from Jeonghan.

Junhui didn’t pay much mind to it, thinking the other was just sleep talking. He had been thinking on what to make for dinner, about to turn around, when a single word was murmured behind him, way too lowly it would have escaped his ears had it not been so silent in the room.

“I’m sorry.”

Feeling something pricking at the corner of his eyes, Junhui smiled, swallowed back everything he wanted to say, and left the room.

Walking to the kitchen, Junhui was intending on searching for anything to cook, when his phone started ringing. Walking to the living room, Junhui found it on the ground, Minghua’s caller ID glaring at him; he could feel shivers on his scalp just staring at those three characters.

With a gulp, Junhui picked it up and answered. Immediately Minghua’s cold voice straightened his back, and made him bite down whatever he was intending to say.

“Wen Junhui, do you think this is a game?”

“No.”

He didn’t even take two seconds to answer.

“When Lu Ge entrusted you to me he had very clearly told me you were among the most responsible, down to earth, and above all, most professional young actors he had ever managed, and I believed him.”

“J--

“You want to focus on dance? That’s fine, I won’t stop you…”

Wait, how did she-- 

Before Junhui could question her, the woman had continued speaking without letting him even say a ba.

“But until those movies are out, and promotions are over, you are an actor,” Minghua hadn’t raised her voice, the entire time her tone was even and she showed a surprised level headedness. “After all that is over, I can help you resign your contract and even get you in contact with some dance studios here in Seoul, but not until you are done with your job.”

Just as Junhui was planning on explaining to her how he was thinking on going about the movies, hearing her last sentence had stunned him.

At the sound of plates clattering Jeonghan woke up with a startle, and was surprised to find himself on the bed. He pushed away the blanket and got up to the door. Following the sound, he walked towards the source of the noise.

He passed by the couch and frowned at it. Junhui had been sleeping there these past days while he lied comfortably on the bed. He had told Junhui that there was no need for him to keep sleeping on the couch, Jeonghan could see his exhaustion, but the younger had quickly rejected both ideas of sharing the bed and Jeonghan changing to the couch.

Walking past the couch Jeonghan was immediately met by the small kitchen, and Junhui kneeling on the floor as he picked up the pans and plates that had fallen just some moments ago.

The sink was filled to the brim with dirty dishes, not to mention the ones drying that Junhui was putting back on their places. Feeling awkward just standing there, Jeonghan knelt down and helped Junhui pick up the plates.

Only at that moment did Junhui finally realized the other had woken up. Too distracted on his own thoughts, he hadn't heard the coming steps.

"Ah, sorry," Junhui quickly apologized, grabbing the plates on Jeonghan's hands, and stood up. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine," Jeonghan also stood up, his eyes remaining on Junhui, sensing something wrong as he watched his movements.

He seemed distracted, not noticing Jeonghan's stare on him.

"I was planning on cooking dinner, but first had to clean up," he said, opening the cabinet to save the last glass.

"Let me help."

Jeonghan moved towards the sink, and without even letting Junhui answer, he started washing the dishes.

"I told you it's fine if you just rest," Junhui sighed and tried to take the sponge away from his hands. "You still haven't fully recovered."

However, Jeonghan easily avoided his hand, quickly moving to block Junhui from trying again.

"I'm feeling better, let me help," Jeonghan responded, focused on the task at hand.

Behind him, Junhui stared at him for a little longer and chuckled. Without erasing the smile off his face, he gently patted at the older's shoulder.

"You sure you'd not rather take a nap?" Junhui spoke as he moved to the fridge to see if he could find anything.

“You've helped me more than necessary, let me at least do something in return," he sighed, aware of the teasing tone on the other's voice. "Can't just lodge off you two after you've given me a place to stay for now."

Hearing those last words, Junhui was reminded of their little time.

“I’m almost fully recovered, at least for these last days let me help you.”

“Oh?” Junhui ignored the pang in his chest, acting nonchalant as he asked: “How much longer are you staying?”

“Probably two more days,” Jeonghan said, “I need to check on some people, and the safest is doing it in person.”

“What about your phone?”

Junhui suddenly asked. He never saw Jeonghan using a phone, nor did he ask his or Yan An’s to call his friends.

“I… uh… it broke,” Jeonghan brought out the smashed mobile.

Junhui looked amused at Jeonghan’s growing red cheeks.

“And I… can’t remember their numbers,” he avoided Junhui’s gaze, focusing on washing the pan in his hands.

He couldn’t help but chuckle, ignoring Jeonghan’s glare when the other heard him laugh, as he went back to cooking.

The fragrant smell from meat mixed with vegetables drenched on the beef’s own juices was enough to make anyone’s mouth start watering, even Jeonghan at the side couldn’t help but keep glancing at it.

Seeing the other staring so intently, Junhui smiled to himself, happy to just enjoy these last days together.

It had been late at night, Junhui was reading on his laptop a recent document Minghua had sent him, one hand scrolling through the pad while the other fidgeted on his knees. He had reached for the cup of coffee on the floor, raising it to his lips to take a sip, when at that moment the door from the bathroom was opened.

Jeonghan had thought Junhui had probably already fallen asleep, and was thus surprised to find him awake, sitting with the laptop on his knees. Curious, Jeonghan walked up to him, stopping right behind the couch.

“You still awake?”

“Yeah,” Junhui nodded, still focused on the words on the screen, “Your bandages--

“Why don’t you go back to sleeping in your room?”

“Huh? You need it more, I’m fine with the couch,” he smiled, moving aside the laptop and turning around so they could speak face to face.

However, the sight before him stunned him, and Junhui had to swallow whatever words he was about to say.

“See, I’m already fine,” Jeonghan pointed at the very faint scars in his torso. They had almost completely disappeared.

He was only wearing the sweatpants Junhui had lent him, and the towel he had been drying his hair with hung over his shoulder. The leftover water still in his hair dripped onto his body, droplets falling down as they traced paths against snow (white jade) like skin, the slight peach blush from the warm water and the swindling brush behind him making him even more alluring.

Junhui nearly choked the moment he saw him, putting all his willpower into focusing on his face as Jeonghan continued to speak.

“You’re tired,” Jeonghan closed into his face, staring directly at Junhui’s eyes, separated only by a few centimeters between them.

Startled, Junhui almost fell off, his hand shooting to hold on the back of the couch, provoking a snicker from the other. Jeonghan had grabbed Junhui’s hand at the same time, but quickly let go the moment he saw the younger was okay.

“It’s better for you to sleep on your bed,” he rested his elbows on the couch.

“But you-

Jeonghan laughed, cutting him off, then smiled. Compared to the previous times, Junhui felt this one was more honest. It was almost the same as that from his memories.

“If you’re so stubborn, we can share the bed,” Jeonghan raised an eyebrow, and before Junhui could say anything, he explained: “I can change forms, so it won’t be as tight as two grown men in a single bed.”

Right now, Junhui could swear the other was teasing him, but that didn’t stop him from blushing. He murmured a small “okay”, avoiding Jeonghan’s gaze as he went back to focusing on the computer’s screen. He wasn’t even reading the words on the document, he just didn’t want to let Jeonghan see his growing red face.

He heard the sound of steps going away, followed by the sound of one of the room’s door opening.

Finally Junhui let out a sigh, dropping down his head on his hands, eyes closed tight as he tried to quickly push away whatever thoughts his mind dared conjure. Yet even then, he could clearly see the image of Jeonghan just coming out from showering. During the past days the demon had showered while they were out during the mornings, but after everything that happened today, he probably hadn’t had the time.

Junhui remembered his early teenage years: the embarrassing moment of realization, his attempts to erase those feelings, the nights waking up ashamed of his own dreams. And the reluctant acceptance. Now, ten years later, he couldn’t fool himself anymore.

“Fuck,” he rubbed his face. “Why now?”

Thinking back to the Jeonghan from his memories, and the current one he got to meet, Junhui couldn’t deny that he —

“Are you really an actor?”

A voice suddenly spoke beside him, drawing him out of his thoughts. Junhui turned to look at Jeonghan surprised, then at the document on the screen. It was a plan for the final promotions, to contacts to the best dance studios in Seoul.

“Uh… yes,” Junhui nodded slowly, careful to watch Jeonghan’s reaction.

“Yanan mentioned it in passing when I asked him about your job,” Jeonghan explained, scratching the back of his neck as he glanced sideways. He felt that he had learned something he shouldn’t.

“It’s fine, I never told him to keep it secret,” although Junhui wasn’t sure if Minghua had told Yan An otherwise.

Minghua had told him to be careful, and Junhui thought that included talking about his profession with strangers, especially since he was in Korea “out of schedule”.

"I thought you'd be busier…"

"I was, some days ago. These last weeks I had just more free time," Junhui chuckled, "I guess you had great timing."

Laughter came from beside him. Junhui turned to look at him.

“Good to know,” Jeonghan smiled at him, his eyes closed like crescent moons.

Junhui’s breath got caught, his mind going blank for a second as he stared at the man beside him. It was different, yet at the same time familiar. A warmth grew in his heart, constricting inside his chest as it threatened to spill all the untold truths.

“Thanks,” Jeonghan said, turning away and resting his elbow against the arm of the couch, chin on his hand. “I hope we can continue seeing each other.”

“Huh?” Junhui’s eyes widened hearing his words, turning his head to look at Jeonghan. “You mean… we can-- you won’t just…”

Disappear.

The word got stuck in his throat, afraid of the memories it contained.

“Eh? Yeah,” Jeonghan was confused by Junhui’s reaction, he frowned at the surprised expression on the younger’s face, almost as if in disbelief. “You’re nice, and fun to talk with. Besides, since you already know my identity, I don’t see why we can’t be friends.”

“I… I thought,” he began fiddling with his fingers, his mind suddenly forgetting how to speak, before finally blurting out, “Yeah… I’d like that, that’d be nice.”

“Good!”

Jeonghan patted him on the shoulder, chuckling. Then he stood up in front of Junhui.

“Try not to stay awake too late,” he gave Junhui one last pat before leaving for the bedroom.

Junhui stared at Jeonghan’s retreating figure, his eyes focused on the long scar across his back. Back then Junhui had thought it was just another injury from whatever had transported Jeonghan away, but seeing it again, it was surprising it hadn’t disappeared like the rest of his scars. Even those recent ones had almost completely vanished, yet that one, how old could it be.

The harder he thought on those little details, Junhui tried to push them back, it wasn’t his business, and Jeonghan probably didn’t even want to talk about it. But Junhui was still curious, why was Jeonghan being attacked?

“No,” he shook his head, brushing away whatever questions popped in his mind.

However, another wave of thoughts came to him, especially related with Jeonghan agreeing to being friends, and wanting to meet even after he left. For a moment Junhui felt like an idiot, thinking that the only way he could see Jeonghan was if he stayed here. But he still had believed that Jeonghan would probably not like to meet again because wasn’t that the most obvious answer, after all the older had forgotten about him, not about ending up in China, just about ever meeting him.

That was something that Junhui had been pondering about these past days, after he had slowly thought it through, but there was no way to figure out how that could be. He sighed and leaned back on the couch, staring at the ceiling.

“What happened?” He thought aloud, his voice coming in a whisper.

With nothing else to think about that could distract him, Junhui closed the computer and stood up.

The bedroom was dark, but Junhui could see a white circular shadow on one side of the bed, a wide space still left beside it for him. Smiling helplessly, Junhui went to lie down.

It would be fine, he told himself as he closed his eyes, the warmth beside him lulling him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyways, how about some feels before we finally move the plot forward? It only took me more than 20 chapters h-
> 
> Sorry for late update and short chapter. This is up to where I’ve written, so updates may become really sporadic. Will try to update as much as I can, but can’t promise anything, so please bear with me. However! Because we all need some junhan in our lives, I’ll do my best to not abandon this, maybe it’ll take me time, but I’ll keep going!
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed, please leave some comments and kudos, they keep me alive in these tire times  
> Stay safe and be nice!  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/kingcygnus) [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


	22. Arc III. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was finished at like almost 7 AM and didn't even edit it, so...
> 
> Warnings: Graphic violence, and slight body horror, not that much but just in case

All the yelling around him was driving him insane. He had tried to block them out, concentrating on Seo Minkwan, the opponent in front of him, yet their yells only became stronger once he was thrown to the other side of the “arena”. Beyond all the red in his sight, by the corner of his eyes he could see Yuwon at the top grinning from ear to ear. He wanted to go up and rip that grin off his face, but all because of that stupid snake’s venom he couldn’t go up there.

“He’s nothing but a weakling!”

“Is this what those foxes consider their most powerful weapon?! What a joke!”

“He’s not even worth all that effort!”

Had it been any other situation, he would have found all those idiots laughing at him annoying, and maybe would have made them swallow their words. However, now the situation was against him. His body had weakened more than he had expected, and began to wonder what kind of venom Yuwon had used on him.

_ What are those snakes up to? _

The man standing on the platform rolled his eyes at those persons’ taunts, but watching the annoyed face on the fox, livened up his mood and he could ignore those idiots’ stupidity.

“Those idiots,” Yuwon chuckled. “It’s only because of the venom that they can fight him, otherwise there’d be a massacre here.”

As he spoke those last words, Yuwon’s eyes glimmered with something dangerous, a bloodlust for a scenario bathed in red.

Still, in comparison this was a bit boring.

“Hey, Jeonghan ah,” Yuwon called the other from the platform, his voice resonating inside the place.

Almost everyone started shivering, heads lowered in complacency; the few standing by Yuwon’s had remained steady, but even them couldn’t bear to look at the man without hesitating; Minkwan had stopped from slamming Jeonghan’s head on the ground. However, among everyone, there was only one person who hadn’t been affected, boldly glaring at him with full killing intent. Yuwon didn’t doubt that hadn’t it been for the venom, Jeonghan would have already jumped up to attack him.

“Isn’t this becoming boring?” Yuwon rested his chin on the palm of his hand as he inclined his elbow on the metal railing. “I know you can give me a better show than this. Why are you holding back?”

Jeonghan didn’t say anything, his frown deepened in question at Yuwon’s words.

Yuwon chuckled, a smug smile in his face as he spoke his next words: “You know there’s a way to get rid of that venom, stop delaying it.”

The look of surprise on Jeonghan’s face provoked a loud bark from Yuwon, his eyes brightening when he saw Jeonghan sending him one of the deadliest glares Yuwon had ever received.

It was great, this was what he wanted. With the right provocation Yuwon knew the other would do just as he wanted, and the scene would become as he desired. The deep darkness circling inside him would surge, and then Yuwon would make sure that fox disappeared for good.

His reckless actions had brought him here, and now Jeonghan had to figure out a way to defeat the idiot in front of him without giving in to Yuwon’s expectations. And yet, he knew that Yuwon was right; there was one way to get rid of the venom and instantly destroy all these snakes, but… not with a free cost. And it wasn’t only that, Jeonghan also didn’t know what Yuwon was planning, and at worst he could only be walking right into his trap-- not like he hadn’t already done so by getting himself in the current situation.

“Then keep waiting,” Jeonghan said, glancing one last time at Yuwon, whipped away the blood from his mouth, and mustered all his strength to push away Minkwan, then threw himself at the man. He grabbed him by the neck, and circled his body so as to hold the man from behind, his arms holding the snake’s head in a chokehold.

However, Minkwan easily caught him, his own flexibility allowing him to reach for Jeonghan’s arms. And right at the moment he was about to fling him away, Jeonghan dug his claws into the Minkwan’s cheekbones. Groaning from the pain of flesh breaking, he tried to pull him off. Instead, Jeonghan dug deeper until he was also piercing into the bone, his fingers digging into the various layers of skin.

The claws, sharper and stronger than the finest blade, peeled the skin like oranges when Minkwan finally managed to throw him off. Blood dripped from his sideburns to his chin, yet the wounds didn’t show any signs of healing. Jeonghan coughed blood from his fall, but that didn’t stop him from smirking at the man, whose face suddenly started to feel like burning.

Yuwon raised an eyebrow at the turn of events, both curious and interested. Until he saw Jeonghan coughing some more blood, no longer looking red, but rather a mix of black and dark green, with some dripping from his lips before whipping it off. It was the venom Yuwon had fed him.

“I see,” his eyes shone like a child who had found a new toy. “As expected of him.”

Away from the man being driven crazy by the sensation of his own face burning, Jeonghan didn’t move from where he sat, weary of whatever move Minkwan made. Yet in his eyes laid scorn and disgust towards the snake in front of him. Just from a bit of that venom that idiot was screaming like a madman, while Jeonghan could feel his entire body burning from the inside-- his organs, bones and skin all on fire, and anyone had yet to see him act in a similar way as that Minkwan.

He crawled at his face, his skin constantly changing from flesh to brown-ish scales. Then in a careless move, Minkwan ended up poking himself on one eye, the infected blood on his hands now passing straight to his retina. He screamed, the pain intolerable not only on his skin, but now running through his eye into the brain. No longer able to maintain even a sliver of sanity, the man did the most “logical” thing: gouged his eye out. Except, with nothing but his own infested hands, all he ended doing was driving even more venom inside his body.

In the end, he could no longer bear the pain, and in his insanity, the venom did its job. Until all there was, was just a corpse.

Silence filled the place.

“Another weakling,” Jeonghan muttered, gaze condescending and full of disdain, not only towards Minkwan, but everyone else inside that place, especially the man standing in the center of that platform.

“Fool,” Yuwon whispered, licking his lips in anticipation.

A sudden pang in his chest distracted Jeonghan from the lifeless body lying in front of him, the fire intensifying tenfold, turning into a flame monster, running rampant inside his body and devouring not only his energy, his lifeforce too. Any longer, and there would be nothing less, but an empty carcass.

For a fox demon, fire was simply a toy, it was their element. Now, it was torture for his soul. There was no longer the soft and familiar warmth, just burning.

_ Fuck. _

He continued to cough blood, his throat screaming in pain every time. The strength he had used in those last moments had completely drained off him. He had no other choice, Jeonghan knew that. That didn’t mean he liked it.

“Woo Kanghye,” Yuwon called at the woman standing at the left end of the platform, “Are your people ready?”

The woman nodded, brushed aside her long silver hair from her face, revealing a beautiful face with golden scales running down her cheeks, and golden-green odd eyes. She told something to the young man beside her, then turned back to look at Yuwon with a frown. Yuwon smiled gently at her, that were it not for the ruthless coldness in his eyes, it could’ve maybe been misunderstood.

“Do not fail,” he said, “Then I’ll keep my promise.”

As his words finished, a bright light enveloped the entire factory.

“Now!”

Kanghye gave the order before the light even began to dissipate.

Sabres shot out from all sides towards the “arena”, followed by the appearance of an array right in the center of it.

Jeonghan saw it coming. From the moment he heard that female voice shout. From the moment Yuwon hinted at it. And yet, he had no other choice, he could do nothing as the blades flew towards him.

It was right in the moment when he had released his true self, when his guard was completely down. Less than mere seconds, which Yuwon had measured. And with the Woo branch under him, he could use their abilities to his favor. A previous neutral party, due to their power, was now another enemy to beware of.

The venom was gone, destroyed by his own “self”; now blades stabbed his body.

The wounds weren’t closing, he wasn’t healing.

Even if the venom was gone, his body had still weakened, and right before he could fully recover, sabres pierced his flesh. Slash after slash, he tried to defend, stopping some, but not all. He was failing.

_ Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. _

_ This is why hyung and noona didn’t let you out. This is why you should’ve stayed. This is why you should’ve listened to them. This is why Jeongwon has to stay there. This is why  _ hyung _ is forever gone. _

_ Stupid. Stupid. _

“Stupid fox,” Yuwon sighed, leaning forward on the railing. “Isn’t he, Jihyun?”

The tall man standing beside him nodded without speaking a single word.

Yuwon didn’t seem bothered by his lack of words. He turned back to look at the espectacle happening down there, nodding along with a wide grin, and laughing loudly when the last sabre stabbed right into Jeonghan’s stomach.

The fox stumbled to the ground, panting and gasping for breath. His entire body was covered in wounds, a blood pool forming under him, a bright contrast against his growing paler skin. He tried to stand up, but could barely hold himself on his knees with his arms. Yet the glare he sent to Yuwon, right before passing out, was completely different from the previous ones, sending shivers down his spine for the first time in years. The killing intent of a demon was terrifying, and it was even worse when it came from a High Demon.

Under the unconscious body, the array set by Kanghye’s people activated.

When the light disappeared, there was no longer a dying fox, just a pool of red.

Gripping the victory in his hands, Yuwon laughed, followed by an applause. Green orbs bathed in desire and bloodthirst shone in delight, and his laughter resounded through the entire area.

Finally the Snakes were victorious. Finally they could get rid of those fucking foxes.

“Who says we’re on equal levels?” Yuwon muttered, “Who says foxes and snakes are evenly matched? We’re stronger!”

  
  


Now.

There was a ghost pain he had long thought forgotten. He sat panting on the bed, back on his human form, with Junhui by his side wide awake, rubbing circles on his back with one hand, while the other softly held his. It was surprising how welcoming that comfort had felt. Maybe it was the odd familiarity Jeonghan had felt since their first meeting, or simply Junhui’s weirdly gentle and warm person, enveloped in a comforting light. Jeonghan didn’t know, and at the moment it was fine not knowing.

Anything that could take away his mind from that day, the insanely unbearable pain, the helplessness, and the guilt, it was good for him.

“Thank you,” he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry,” Junhui responded, his voice just as soft.

He sounded tired, but insisted that he was fine.

As long as Jeonghan was okay, he could hold on, he said.

It was a bit endearing, Jeonghan had to admit, gazing at the hand holding his. It was slightly bigger than his, but oddly enough, felt like fitted just right with his. How weird, it felt almost nostalgic, with a slight change barely perceptible.

It was nice.

  
  


That same day, fourteen years ago.

Slap!

The smack of her hand against his face resonated inside the entire library. Even Mingyu, who had just come in, had heard it right from the entrance.

“Noona! Calm down!” Jisoo stepped in right as it seemed she was gonna go for another one.

On Wonwoo’s cheeks, there wasn’t just a mark from her hand, but also her nails. She had used her claws right on the impact.

Even so, Wonwoo had held it in. Frowning but silent. He knew he was wrong, it was their fault. And because of Jisoo’s future role on the Crows, she couldn’t afford to injure him. Wonwoo on the other hand, it was her responsibility, no matter his role, so she could punish him.

“You!”

She turned to Jisoo, fury burning in her red-blue odd eyes. She couldn’t injure him, but she could yell at him.

“It was you who convinced us to let him out! It was you who filled him with all those ideas of going out!” She pointed at him. “And now look where that got him!”

“Gyeongwoo,” the man standing beside her tried to pull her back, although Wonwoo could still see the anger and disappointment in his eyes, suddenly feeling the red in them even more fiery than usual.

“Shut it, Seongwoo,” she slapped his hand away. “A bet! A stupid fucking bet! What even made him think making a bet with Tae-fucking-Yuwon was a good idea!”

“You know why,” Seongwoo whispered, and the glare Gyeonwoo sent him wasn’t the least bit unexpected. After all, it was related to…

“Which is why he should’ve known better,” Gyeongwoo spoke between gritted teeth, then turned back to scowl at the other two, “Which is why you should’ve known better.”

Wonwoo and Jisoo remained silent. They were just as guilty and they knew.

Finally, Gyeongwoo let out a tired sigh. She looked at Jisoo, not bothering to hide her resentment, as she spoke.

“Search for him, and don’t even think of coming back until you bring him with you,” her words were cold and ruthless, just what was expected of the Clan Leader. “And you, Wonwoo, will stay here and prepare the place. Those fucking snakes will soon begin their attack.”

None of them said anything against her orders, not even Seongwoo, who had the same amount of power as her. They all knew there were priorities for each of them, and due to current circumstances, neither Wonwoo nor Jisoo had the right to complain.

  
  


On present day, inside their new home, Jisoo lied fully awake on the couch, blankly staring at the ceiling. The moon’s light seeping through the creak on the closed curtains showered over him, offering just enough light for Seungcheol to find him after feeling the other half of the bed cold and empty.

With a flick of his finger on Jisoo’s forehead, Seungcheol brought back the drifting attention of his partner to the present.

Jisoo looked up at Seungcheol, and smiled. It wasn’t a fully genuine one, but a grateful one. That was enough.

“Still thinking about it?” Seungcheol sat beside him, his hand resting on the other’s abdomen.

“Yes,” Jisoo held his hand. “It just… reminds me of that time.”

He sighed and sat up, changing his position to having his back leaning against Seungcheol’s shoulder.

“I can’t imagine how Wonwoo must be feeling,” he whispers.

“We’ll find him,” Seungcheol leaned his head against Jisoo’s. “He’s our friend too. And this time you’ll have more help.”

A chuckle escaped his lips, before nodding. Seungcheol was right, Jisoo thought. This time they had more friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I'm sorry *kneels down* but don't worry on next chapter we're back to happy moments, I swear  
> Answers have been answered at least... or have they? Then besides junhan, we also get a bit of cheolsoo because my heart has been asking me, and I must deliver~ And we're finally getting onto the plot, because yes, this has a plot, surprising even to me
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, please leave some kudos and comments, all of them are appreciated  
> Stay safe and be nice!  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)
> 
> Ps: rating will probably go up from here on onward, depends, but just in case I'll still add warnings at beginning when needed


	23. Arc III. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who would've thought we could've passed by each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta-ed and and not edited

The dance studio was filled with young teens, and for a moment Junhui thought he had gotten the day wrong. He checked on his phone, and confirmed it was indeed Wednesday. He only got more confused, and decided to search for Soonyoung. Jeonghan, who had been by his side, seemed distracted by talking with the receptionist, Junhui glanced at him then walked into the studio full with teenagers.

“Hyung!” Chan walked out from another on the other end of the room, which gave way to a small hallway where the office resided.

“Ah, Chan, where’s Soonyoung? He didn’t mention the youth class for today,” Junhui pointed at his back, where the bunch of teenagers had been chatting amongst themselves.

“Sorry, it’s because Jihoon hyung couldn’t come yesterday that we changed their classes for today, while the kids will have it later,” Chan walked into the office, where Soonyoung and Jihoon were preparing for the incoming lesson, and grabbed a paper from the desk on the far back, “We already called the parents, and I was about to call.”

“It’s fine,” he shook his hand, then took the paper and looked at the new schedule. “There’s still two hours, then…”

Junhui looked back at the reception, finding Jeonghan resting against the clear door while fiddling on Junhui’s phone the younger had lent him before. They had planned to separate here and meet later on the weekend; Junhui would stay in the studio for the lessons, and then Jeonghan would go on his way to whatever place he was intending to go.

“Okay, then,” Junhui looked at the other two guys in the office, “Think you’ll need my help?”

“Huh?” Soonyoung turned his head from the notebook to Junhui, then shook his head while smiling proudly as he pointed at Jihoon, “No need, they’re kind of scared of Jihoon so they tend to behave well.”

“Tsk, it’s not my fault,” Jihoon groaned, “It was Chan who filled them with all those crazy stories.”

The youngest snickered, avoiding the pen thrown at him before leaving the office to watch over those teens.

Junhui laughed, “Then I’ll come back later. Call me if you need help.”

Whether or not he would help, Junhui didn’t say anything. He was fine with teaching children, but not teenagers, that was out of his experience.

Just as he was leaving, Chan burst in gasping, a wild look in his eyes as if he had seen a ghost. Junhui frowned.

“Hyung!”

They all looked at him.

“Hyung is here!”

Yet that still wasn’t clear enough for them to understand. Soonyoung and Junhui were the most confused, staring at one another then Chan and finally Jihoon, who the youngest was looking directly at.

After a few seconds, Jihoon seemed to finally understand what Chan was talking about, his eyes widened and his mouth opened, trying to form a word but nothing came out.

Immediately Jihoon stood up, nearly throwing the chair all the way to the wall as he ran out with Chan, almost tripping on his feet.

Now Junhui and Soonyoung were even more confused, and followed behind their friends.

The group of teens in the room were huddled in a corner, whispering while glancing towards the door where Jihoon and Chan were talking with Jeonghan.

“What’s going on?”

“Who’s that?”

Junhui and Soonyoung asked at the same time, staring at the scene in front of them.

While waiting for Junhui to finish talking to his friend, Jeonghan had been talking with the receptionist, curious about the place Junhui worked at. It was quite interesting that an actor like Junhui would also work as a dance instructor, yet also confusing.

“Soonyoung hyung said he’s almost always busy, and there were even some days when Junhui hyung couldn’t make it to the lessons,” the youth explained, “But when he makes it, he really takes care of the kids, and works hard to teach them. Especially when some of them are having difficulty learning a step, he still does his best to help them.”

“He’s really like that, huh,” unknowingly, Jeonghan’s expression softened.

“You’re also a dancer?”

“Huh? No, no,” he laughed, shaking both hands, “I just came to accompany him. Also, I was a bit curious to see him dance.”

“Oh! He’s really good! Soonyoung hyung really knows how to pick dancers,” the guy’s eyes sparkled with admiration.

While they continued talking, a few parents entered the studio, and the receptionist had to attend to them. Jeonghan smiled at the pair of couples and greeted them, then walked to the other side of the reception, by the clear door’s side.

He took out Junhui’s phone and started playing one of the games. He wasn’t in a hurry to leave yet, if he was going by previous experience then it was very probable that Wonwoo would still be in the library. And since most of his powers had returned, he could at least hide his presence from weaklings, which no doubt would be searching for him.

While leaning on the doorframe to the practice room, Jeonghan was ignorant to whatever was happening behind him, and thus when the door was slammed open, his first reaction was to move away. However, a hand grabbed at his arm and turned him around, rather forceful.

He was about to scold whichever brat had the guts to do that, but as soon as his eyes fell on the youth in front of him, the words died on his mouth.

“Chan--

Yet Jeonghan hadn’t even spoken the boy’s name, had the youngest ran back towards the door Junhui had disappeared to.

Just a few moments later Chan came back running, followed, to Jeonghan’s surprise, by Jihoon.

“Ah, Jihoon, you too--

“Where have you been?” Jihoon immediately asked.

Jeonghan flinched at the younger’s question. Jihoon hadn’t raised his voice, but Jeonghan could hear the anger and worry in the tone. He had imagined so, knowing the others had probably been searching for him, still Jeonghan knew better than to run around while in such a weak state, he would be an easy prey for them.

“Recovering,” he tried to explain, “Someone helped me, and I’d been staying at his place since I wasn’t able to hide my real self. My phone broke too, so I couldn’t call any of you.”

“Wait, then that person…” Jihoon frowned.

“He… knows,” Jeonghan avoided his gaze.

He looked to the side, and happened to meet eyes with Junhui, who had been standing beside Soonyoung, cocking an eyebrow raised the moment he saw him. Jeonghan could feel a headache coming, and sent him a helpless smile.

Chan and Jihoon turned to the direction Jeonghan was staring at, and both were surprised to see he was looking at Junhui.

“Hyung, you-”

“You know Jun?” Jihoon finished Chan’s question, frowning.

“Huh? Ah, um…” Jeonghan got startled by the question, and turned back to Jihoon, scratching his cheek.

If Jihoon and Chan were here, and they came from the same door Junhui had gone through, then, Jeonghan realized, they were Junhui’s colleagues, and friends too, probably, by the way Jihoon had called him.

_ Oh… so we all know each other. Great. _

“Yeah…” Jeonghan sighed, “He’s the one who helped me.”

“This entire time… you’ve been at Jun’s place?!” Jihoon looked about ready to explode, the only things stopping being his pride as they were in a public area. “You- You have any idea how worried we were?! The shit they-”

Jihoon cut himself and shook his head. Chan seemed about to say something too, but Jihoon stopped him, then gave a look to Jeonghan.

“I suppose you’re planning on going to the library,” Jihoon said, “Then they’ll tell you everything. It’s not our place.”

“What do you mean?”

Alarms rang on his ears, his hairs standing on edge at the implication of Jihoon’s words. Jeonghan nearly ran off through the entrance, but just a glance to Junhui’s worried expression, along with Chan holding onto his arm, made him realize he had almost lost himself.

He let out a breath to calm himself, finally able to think better through the words Jihoon had spoken.

“Are they fine?” Jeonghan asked, ignoring the anxiety rising through his skin. It was familiar, but not welcomed. He didn’t want to go through that again.

“Yes, but…” Chan hesitated, avoiding looking at the oldest, “It’s not that simple.”

Soonyoung was the first to walk over, about to tell Jihoon the class was about to start, but Junhui had won him over.

Junhui took his phone from Jeonghan’s hands, completely natural, then moved to stand by his side. Acting as if he had been there the entire time, flipping through his phone before saving it back to his pocket.

He then turned to Jeonghan, gaze gentle like he did in those roles as the gentleman accompanying his partner, not looking out of the ordinary from his usual friendly exterior his friends were used to.

“I have a couple hours free, want me to accompany you?”

The question was casual, open to Jeonghan either accepting or rejecting him, giving him a chance to choose.

And although at first Jeonghan wanted to reject him, he knew that was he to go alone who knows if he would break into a run, throwing logic out the window. Just the memory from the other night reminded him of the younger’s comforting warmth, and he thought, maybe it wasn’t a bad idea. The last thing he needed at the moment was to act out careless.

“Okay,” Jeonghan looked at Junhui, for once not finding it just a bit annoying that the younger was taller. “Thanks.”

“Fine,” Jihoon sighed, then a small smile drew on his lips, “We’re glad you’re okay.”

With Junhui by his side, and both Jihoon and Chan staring at him, not to mention Soonyoung’s utter face of confusion, Jeonghan felt flustered and quickly nodded as he turned back to the reception, trying, and failing, to act as usual.

“Explain to me later,” Jihoon told Junhui, before dragging Soonyoung and Chan back with him, “And thanks, for helping and…” he laughed, “taking care of him.”

“Hm,” Junhui smiled, a slight blushing appearing on his face. Then turned and went to follow Jeonghan.

On their walk, Jeonghan more or less explained where they were going, pausing every once in a while to watch his words. Junhui didn’t comment on it, understanding there were things the older could not tell him, the fact that he had let him accompany him was already enough.

“This road is a bit familiar,” Junhui commented as they passed by a street, his eyes falling on a restaurant by the sidewalk.

“This area is quite popular among college students,” Jeonghan shrugged, “Maybe you came around here with Yanan?”

“Probably,” he nodded, then pointed at a certain place, “I think his classmates often go to that restaurant, he’s taken me there with them whenever I’m free.”

Jeonghan glanced at the place Junhui had signaled, and also felt it a bit familiar. He slightly remembered Myeongho mentioning a restaurant he often went to with his classmates.

“I met some new friends there, too,” Junhui smiled, remembering the first times Yan An had taken him to, “It was nice since I had only been here one year.”

“Eh?” Jeonghan turned to Junhui in surprise, “I thought you’d been here longer.”

“No,” he chuckled, “This is my third year here. I haven’t been able to do much, though, since most of the time I spent it filming, or on photo shoots.”

“I could show you some places,” Jeonghan commented, then quickly added, “If you want to.”

Junhui looked at him, eyes widened, and a bright smile formed in his face as he nodded, his excitement more than obvious.

Seeing the enthusiastic reaction from the younger man, Jeonghan couldn’t help but smile. He also felt the sudden want to ruffle his hair, but held back, thinking it would be a bit embarrassing since Junhui was taller than him.

In between their exchange of words, they reached the library. It stood between an old shop of antiques and an alley. It didn’t look big from the outside, with just an upper floor, it had two windows on the entrance showcasing various books in different languages, and three floor-to-ceiling on the second floor with long curtains covering the content inside. On the front door hung a sign with “OPEN” scribbled on it.

With a glance around, Junhui felt this area a bit familiar, as if he had passed by these streets before but hadn’t really stopped to look at what was there. He could slightly recall passing by the antiques store.

“Is there a local bar on the street ahead?” Junhui pointed at the direction opposite from where they had come from.

“Yeah… Have you passed by here before?” Jeonghan frowned, for some reason expectant and hopeful by Junhui’s answer.

“I think so, with Yanan and some of his classmates, we went to the bar on the next street." Junhui then looked at Jeonghan with a smile, but not quite a smile, in his face, "Who would've thought we could've passed by each other."

When they entered the library, immediately an incoming punch stopped only a few centimeters away from Junhui’s face. Although taken aback by the sudden attack, Jeonghan had managed to hold back Mingyu’s wrist. He frowned as he pushed Mingyu away, and moved to stand in front of Junhui.

“What the hell Mingyu?” Jeonghan glared at the younger, checking by the corner of his eyes that Junhui was fine.

Junhui didn’t know how to react, both shocked by the attack and Mingyu’s glowing, pale blue eyes.

“Hyung, I thought he--

“Mingyu, what’s going on?” Wonwoo’s voice interrupted whatever the younger was going to say.

Jeonghan turned to where the voice came over, finding Wonwoo walking over while holding onto the shelves. His pupils sharpened when he realized the younger was wounded, with some small cuts on his face and visible bandages around his neck.

“Hyung?”

Wonwoo finally realized who had arrived, startled as he separated from the wall and tried to move towards him. However, a hand stopped him. Behind Wonwoo stood Jisoo, just as injured, and a woman, who the moment her odd-colored eyes fell on Jeonghan, a cold glare formed on her face.

“What happened?” Jeonghan asked, his hands starting to shake.

He could more or less get an idea of whatever had happened, but he still needed something to confirm it, so that he could be sure on whom to direct his anger.

Just as Jeonghan felt like he would crumble the moment he took a step forward, a gentle touch on his shoulder grounded him.

“ _ Little Han _ ,” it was a whisper, barely audible. Junhui did it almost unconsciously, remembering the trembling, sleeping fox from his childhood memories during the thundering night storms.

But Jeonghan still heard it, and without understanding why, he felt the anger and frustration slowly dissipate.

“Do you want me to leave?” Junhui said a bit louder, but still low and softly enough for only the two of them to hear. He felt that if he stayed it would be kind of awkward, he knew this wasn’t his place to be.

It wasn’t difficult to understand the meaning of his question, and once again Jeonghan felt that growing warmth enveloping him, a long forgotten feeling that seemed to come back to haunt him after so many years.

“Eh…”

However, before Jeonghan could answer him, the woman that had been standing behind Jisoo and Wonwoo, suddenly stepped forward until she was right in front of Jeonghan and Junhui. Her glare was cold and unforgiving, looking especially “deadlier” with her sharp eyes.

“Who is he? Why do you keep befriending  _ them _ ?”

“Noona…”

Wonwoo tried to talk to her, but with just raising her hand, the other swallowed back his words.

“He helped me,” Jeonghan replied, refusing to avoid her gaze even when she used her status, “And he already knows.”

He also wanted to complain about the way she had talked about them, with disgust in her voice as she clearly meant humans, but knew he couldn’t push it.

“You--”

Her glare hardened.

“He didn’t tell me,” Junhui spoke, moving to stand beside Jeonghan, “I already knew, because I met one before, when I was a child.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry I took so long *kneels down* and sorry it's short *kneels down again*  
> in exchange I offer you some sprinkled candies hehe...  
> will try to not take this long again, but can't really promise anything... uni is kicking my ass again and work has gotten harder, still will try my best to update more !
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading, please leave kudos and comments, all are appreciated !  
> Stay safe and be nice !!  
> [✰](http://twitter.com/wenjeongs) [✰](http://wnshuhxn.tumblr.com)


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